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REALITY:  or  law  and 

ORDER  VS.  ANARCHY 
AND  SOCIALISM 

A  REPLY  TO 

Edward   Bellamy's  Looking  Backward  and  Equality 

BY 

GEORGE  A.  SANDERS,  M.  A 

Author  of  "Orations,  Addresses,   and  Club  Essays,"  etc 


CLEVELAND:    TTbe  JBurrowfl   JBrotbctfl 
Company,  publishers,  mdcccxcviii 


f 


Copyright,  1898 

BY 

George  A.  Sanders 


ALL    RIGHTS    RESERVED 


Tkts  book  is  copyrighted  in  foreign  countries  in  accordance 
wtth  the  provisions  of  their  laws  and  of  the  International  Coi,y. 
right  Law.  ^-^ 


„^  ^  I  Q  N 


To   Law  and  Order 

wisely  and  lovingly  administered  in  the  interests  of  all 

the  people,  world  without  end,  I 

dedicate  this  book 

GEORGE  A.  SANDERS 


50^219 


CONTENTS 

Preface    ..... 

Dreaming  and  Dreamers 

Character  and  Culture  the  Basis  of  Civili 

ZATION  .... 

The  Present  Industrial  System 
Some  Real  Statistics  for  Dreamers  and  Pes 

simists  .... 

Evolution  —  In  Law 
Mammonism,  Its  Perils  and  Advantages 
The  Masters  of  Bread 
Brotherly  Love 
What  God  Might  Have  Done 
Index         ..... 


PAGE 

9 
II 

57 
79 

93 
113 
149 

183 
203 
213 
229 


50^819 


PREFACE 

In  these  days  of  feverish  unrest  and  of  fierce  con- 
flict along  some  lines  of  thought  and  action,  it  gives 
pain  to  the  patriot  and  humanitarian  to  read  or  hear 
of  anything  that  adds  fuel  to  the  flame. 

I  have  read  with  deepest  interest  Mr.  Bellamy's 
books,  Looking  Backward  and  Equality^  and  can  only 
conclude  that  they  quicken  the  pulse  of  the  unrestful 
and  offer  no  cooling  waters  to  quench  the  flame. 

I  was  born  and  reared  on  a  farm  among  the  rocks 
and  hills  of  New  England,  and  know  from  experi- 
ence what  hard,  long-continued  manual  labor  means. 
I  am  not  a  millionaire,  a  bloated  bondholder  or 
plutocrat,  or  president  of  any  corporation.  My 
deepest  sympathies  are,  and  always  have  been,  with 
the  poor,  the  laborers,  and  those  who  suffer  under 
any  and  every  form  of  oppression.  I  will  at  all  times 
support,  to  the  extent  of  my  ability,  any  and  all 
measures,  legal,  governmental,  or  industrial,  that 
promise  permanent  or  even  temporary  relief:  but  from 
a  careful  study  of  Mr.  Bellamy's  theories  as  laid  down 
in  his  books  reviewed,  they  offer  neither  temporary 
nor  permanent  relief  for  the  poor  and  the  laborers. 

If  they  assured  relief  it  could  be  obtained  only 
through  a  social  and  anarchistic  revolution.  There 
are  no  evils  now  existing  that  could  at  all  compen- 
sate for  such  unimagined  misery  and  suffering  as  this 
would  produce.  I  endeavor  as  far  as  possible  to 
evade  the  shadows  and  enjoy  the  sunshine,  and  will 


10  PREFACE 

probably  be  called  too  sanguine  and  optimistic  by- 
many;  but,  while  painfully  conscious  of  the  vast 
amount,  in  the  aggregate,  of  the  sufferings  of  the 
race,  yet  I  rejoice  with  those  who  see  much  in  this 
beautiful  world  of  joy,  beauty,  and  hope ;  and  I  must 
still  believe  in  the  wonderful  progress  made  in  hu- 
man achievement,  that  God  still  reigns,  that  all 
possible  perfection  of  the  race  will  be  attained  under 
the  present  forms  of  development,  that  science, 
intellection,  and  true  altruistic  love  will  solve  all  the 
serious  questions  that  now  hinder  our  individual  and 
race  development. 

My  aim  in  this  book  has  been  to  do  absolute  justice 
to  all  men,  all  interests,  and  all  questions  considered; 
to  suggest  a  better  understanding  of  all  the  vexed 
problems  of  capital  and  labor;  to  quicken  and 
energize  the  patriotism  of  the  citizens  of  our  mighty 
Republic ;  and  to  arouse  a  genuine  brotherly  love  for 
the  poor,  the  suffering,  and  the  laborers  of  the  nation, 
for  their  culture  and  highest  possible  development. 
If  I  have  in  any  degree  accomplished  this  object,  I' 
shall  feel  that  I  have  not  written  in  vain.  To  this 
end  I  invoke  the  charitable  consideration  of  the 
reading  public. 

G.  A.  S. 


DREAMING  AND  DREAMERS 

^^MctJiinks  I  see  in  my  mind  a  noble  ayid  puissant  nation 
rousing  herself  like  a  strong  man  after  sleep,  and  shaking 
her  invincible  locks.  Methinks  I  see  her  as  an  eagle  meiv- 
ing  Jur  mighty  youth,  and  kindling  her  tindazzled  eyes  at 
the  full  mid-day  beam,  purging  and  unsealing  her  long- 
abused  sight  at  the  fountain  itself  of  heavenly  radiance; 
while  the  ivhole  noise  of  timorous  and  flocking  birds,  with 
those  also  that  love  the  twilight,  flutter  about,  amazed  at 
what  she  means.'' — MiLTON. 

Dreaming  is  a  most  delightful  experience,  and 
oftentimes  beneficial.  To  be  freed  from  every  pos- 
sible limitation  of  the  flesh,  the  blood,  and  this 
mortal  existence ;  to  be  borne  away  on  the  six  wings 
of  seraphic  flight;  to  allow  the  imagination,  that 
noblest  of  all  powers  of  man,  absolute  freedom;  to 
annihilate  all  limitations  of  time  and  space;  and 
to  choose  one's  own  ideals  without  any  question  as  to 
whether  they  can  ever  be  realized,  is  the  most  luxuri- 
ous and  enchanting  of  all  possible  experiences. 

There  have  been  dreamers  in  every  clime,  lan- 
guage, and  race.  Their  revelations  have  often  been 
a  great  uplift  and  a  precious  heritage  to  their  fellow 
mortals. 

The  distinguishing  prerogative  of  the  dreamer  is 
his  power  to  invade  fearlessly  the  realms  of  the  mys- 
terious ;  to  rend  the  veil  of  the  future  and  unknown ; 
and  to  exhibit,  to  the  dimmer  vision  of  the  ordinary 


12  REALITY 

mortal,  the  beautiful  pictures  of  the  coming  realities 
that  lie  concealed  in  the  yet  —  to  him — unexperi- 
enced future. 

These  pictures  are  far  more  enchanting,  inspiring, 
and  instructive  than  the  old  tales  of  the  Witch  of 
Endor,  or  the  uncanny  appearances  of  the  returning 
ghosts  at  the  midnight  hour.  In  fact,  they  partake 
largely  of  the  same  nature ;  for  they  claim  superior 
knowledge  of  the  Infinite  to  reveal  the  hitherto  un- 
knowable and  to  forecast  the  future  possibilities  of 
moral,  intellectual,  and  spiritual  attainment.  Any- 
thing that  lies  concealed  from  mortal  vision  beyond 
the  veil  is  gratefully  and  joyously  received,  and  is 
most  acceptable,  if  there  is  the  remotest  possibility 
of  its  ever  being  realized  in  the  life  and  experience 
of  the  race.  Hence,  seers,  prophets,  and  dreamers 
in  all  ages  have  received  the  reverence,  admiration, 
homage,  and  even  worship  of  their  contemporaries, 
because  of  their  supposed  superior  endowment  of 
a  power  not  possessed  by  ordinary  mortals, —  by 
which  they  communicate  with  the  gods,  spirits,  and 
ruling  forces  of  the  universe,  and  give  us  their 
dreams  as  the  evidences  of  these  exalted  endowments. 

DIFFERENT  KINDS  OF  DREAMERS. 

Some  claim  that  this  supernatural  power  comes  to 
them,  by  withdrawing  for  long  intervals  from  the 
contaminating  influence  of  their  social  environment, 
and  by  starving  the  body  with  long  fasts.  The 
spirit  is  thus  freed  from  mortal  limitations ;  and  pre- 
pared for  communion  with,  and  companionship  of, 
the  spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect,  and  of  the 
gods  who  inhabit  and  control  the  invisible  and  un- 
revealed  realms  and  experiences  of  some  future  life. 


DIFFERENT  KINDS  OF  DREAMERS  15 

Some,  like  Mahomet,  come  forth  with  a  fully  organ- 
ized system  of  life  and  conduct  which  they  claim  will 
lead  to  an  eternity  of  future  bliss  and  joy,  pictured 
in  their  visions,  and,  for  a  time  at  least,  experienced 
by  them ;  or,  like  Brig-ham  Young,  they  are  directed 
where  they  can  find  a  code  of  conduct,  which  will 
meet  all  the  desires  and  necessities  of  the  race. 

Some,  like  John  the  Revelator,  see  a  new  Heaven 
and  a  new  Earth,  in  which  sin  shall  be  no  more,  nor 
sighs  nor  tears,  where  love  shall  reign  supreme,  and 
where  every  mortal  shall  find  rest  in  the  exalted  com- 
panionship of  those  his  earthly  experiences,  culture, 
and  development  have  made  him  worthy  of  and 
capable  to  enjoy;  or,  like  Paul,  are  taken  to  the 
third  heaven  and  permitted  to  see  the  things  it 
would  not  be  proper  to  reveal.  Others  claim  to 
reach  the  same  end  through  powerful  stimulants, 
benumbing  drugs,  electricity,  Christian  Science, 
magnetism,  or  the  power  of  hypnotism,  by  which 
the  exalted  spirit  is  released,  and  for  a  time  escapes 
the  limitations  of  its  mortal  coil,  and  on  the  wings 
of  limitless  fancy  seeks  its  highest  ideals. 

Marie  Corelli,  in  her  charming  Romance  of  Two 
Worlds,  describes  in  what  manner  she  had  been  care- 
fully prepared  for  her  wonderful  journey  by  Dr. 
Casimir,  the  Persian  Magician,  who  had  administered 
to  her  from  the  little  bottle  containing  the  life-giving 
elixir;  and  how  with  her  guardian  angel  she  left 
the  sleeping  mortal,  and  on  the  wings  of  the  immor- 
tal flew  tireless  through  the  vast  universe  of  rolling 
worlds  and  whirling  spheres,  all  inhabited  with 
happy  sentient  beings  of  different  forms,  attain- 
ments, and  activities ;  heard  and  was  enraptured  with 
the  sweet,  thrilling  music  of  the  spheres:  but  when 


14  REALITY 

they  seemed  to  be  approaching  the  great  center  of 
the  universe,  she  was  informed  by  her  guardian 
.angel  and  guide,  that  she  was  fitted  to  go  no  far- 
ther, that  she  must  return  to  earth  and  learn  to  love. 
She  reached  the  bounds  of  fancy  when  she  had 
reached  the  limits  of  her  powers  of  comprehension ; 
and  learned  the  great  lesson  of  universal  ethics,  that 
to  reach  the  heart  and  center  of  the  universe  she 
must  prepare  herself  for  its  comprehension  through 
the  perfected  experiences  of  its  ruling  power  —  love 
itself.  Her  journey  was  to  demonstrate  the  univer- 
sal power  of  electricity,  which  she  calls  the  soul  of 
the  material  universe ;  and  3^et  she  was  taught  what 
is  the  central  power  in  the  realm  of  both  matter  and 
spirit.  She  was  absent  from  the  body,  in  her  little 
outing,  about  two  days ;  and  learned  the  necessity  of 
the  greatest  experience  possible  to  the  race,  that,  to 
love  and  enjoy  the  companionship  of  the  Creator 
and  His  universe,  she  must  show  her  desire  for 
them  and  her  worthiness  of  them,  by  loving  and 
serving  her  mortal  companions,  His  creation.  His 
children,  in  their  earthly  pilgrimage. 

THE  INFLUENCE  OF  DREAMS. 

The  influence  of  these  dreams  is  in  proportion  to 
the  credulity  of  their  readers,  the  extent  with  which 
they  grasp  and  follow  out  the  dominant  natural  forces 
of  the  nobler  faculties  for  the  culture  and  develop- 
ment of  the  race,  and  the  possibilities  of  realizing 
their  ideals  in  the  individual  and  race  life. 

Bunyan,  Mahomet,  and  John  the  Revelator  have 
had  an  inconceivable  influence  upon  human  destiny. 
Their  following  since  their  dreams  has  been  almost 
unlimited,  because  they  reached  the   depths  of  hu- 


THE  GREAT  MODERN  DREAMER  15 


man  thought,  feeling,  hope,  and  aspiration.  Their 
dreams  bound  together,  in  an  eternal  embrace,  the 
present  and  the  future  life.  They  appealed  with  the 
strongest  possible  motive  —  a  life  of  everlasting  bliss 
in  heaven,  or  paradise,  as  the  certain  reward  of  a 
righteous  life  on  earth ;  thus  moving  upon  the 
regnant  forces  in  every  life  —  the  moral,  intellectual, 
and  the  spiritual. 

Their  dreams  were  universal  in  extent  and  appli- 
cation ;  they  reached  and  controlled  the  most  refined 
and  exalted  in  intellect  and  scientific  attainment, 
the  most  potent  in  wealth  and  power,  and  the  hum- 
blest toiler  and  slave.  They  broke  down  the  bar- 
riers of  caste,  station,  avarice,  and  ambition;  and 
all  who  came  under  their  potent  spell  were  elevated 
to  the  same  plane  of  perfected  experience,  through  a 
supreme  love  for  each  other,  for  their  Creator,  and 
for  a  righteous  life. 

Time  or  the  method  used  in  each  case  to  produce 
the  ecstatic  conditions  necessary  to  obtain  the  vision, 
prophecy,  or  dream,  seems  not  to  have  been  a  vital 
necessity  with  most  of  the  great  dreamers. 

THE  GREAT  MODERN  DREAMER. 

But  with  the  great  modern  Dreamer  in  Equality, 
time  seems  to  have  been  an  important  factor.  Per- 
haps it  was  because  the  dream  had  more  to  do  with 
the  present  life  and  with  active  mortality,  than  with 
the  life  beyond  the  river,  and  with  the  conditions  and 
environments  of  the  great  majority  who  have  already 
passed  all  mortal  experiences;  more  to  do  with  the 
baser  materialism  of  the  race,  than  with  their  moral, 
intellectual,  and  spiritual  natures. 

One  hundred  years  is  a  long  time  to  lie  dreaming; 


16  REALITY 

and  the  reading  public  can  easily  be  pardoned  for 
expecting  mighty  results  from  such  a  prodigious 
effort  of  the  fancy ;  and  especially  when  the  dreamer 
was  a  cultured  millionaire,  and  lay  incubating  his 
fanciful  dream  for  a  hundred  years  in  the  highly 
electrified  atmosphere  of  Boston  culture.  A  dream 
of  a  century's  duration  should  produce  astonishing 
and  marvelous  results,  especially  when  covering  the 
closing  era  of  the  nineteenth  century;  nor  is  the 
reading  and  thinking  public  greatly  disappointed, 
for  he  is  easily  at  the  head  of  all  dreamers,  at  least  as 
far  as  the  hypnotic  influence  and  the  time  of  his 
dreaming  is  concerned. 

The  records  of  the  mythic  period,  and  history 
since  the  days  of  Herodotus,  nowhere  intimate  an 
effort  of  the  fancy,  a  free  and  unlimited  struggle  for 
ideals,  a  dream,  of  one  hundred  years. 

Bunyan's  dream,  or  allegory,  is  briefly  and  quickly 
narrated ;  John  the  Revelator  requires  but  twenty- 
two  short  chapters  to  give  to  the  world  his  most 
potent  and  all-inspiring  vision ;  while  the  modern 
Dreamer  uses  four  hundred  and  twelve  pages,  closely 
printed,  to  explain  his  dream,  —  and  that  too  in  this 
era  of  electric  thought  and  action  and  in  the  environ- 
ment of  Boston,  the  claimed  Athens  of  the  New 
World.  Perhaps  the  magnitude  of  his  task  requires 
a  more  specific  explanation  than  that  of  the  other 
dreamers. 

WHAT  "EQUALITY"  PRESENTS. 

Equality  presents  a  wonderfully  interesting  dream, 
from  the  Genesis  to  the  last  page  of  the  Revelation. 
It  is  a  very  happy  conception,  very  cleverly  writ- 
ten for  the  object  in  view,  and  timely  in  its  appear- 


WHAT  '' EQUALITY''  PRESENTS  17 

ance.  It  is  wisely  connected  with  that  exceedingly- 
popular  book,  Looking  Backward.  It  treats  in  a  very 
interesting  manner  a  great  variety  of  subjects,  usu- 
ally considered  dry  and  uninteresting  to  many  who 
read  for  amusement  rather  than  for  instruction,  and 
even  to  students  and  scholars  because  of  want  of 
sufficient  data  to  judge  of  the  accuracy  of  statements 
on  which  to  form  correct  and  satisfactory  conclu- 
sions. 

It  shows  great  research,  much  earnest  thought 
and  investigation  on  the  great  social,  religious,  polit- 
ical, and  economical  questions  that  are  receiving  so 
much  careful  study  and  investigation  from  all  scholars, 
scientists,  and  politicians  the  world  over  at  the  pres- 
ent time. 

These  subjects,  so  vital  to  the  welfare  of  the  race, 
are  made  exceedingly  interesting  and  attractive  by 
the  unique  and  charming  manner  of  their  treatment 
and  presentation;  the  characters,  or  dramatis  pcr- 
soncc,  are  well  up  in  their  various  parts;  and  most 
of  the  illustrations  are  well  chosen  for  their  intended 
purpose.  Dr.  Leete,  Mr.  Barton,  Kenloe,  and  dear, 
lovely  Edith  act  well  their  parts. 

The  Dreamer  has  them  thoroughly  prepared,  in 
the  history  of  the  miserable  past  and  the  experi- 
ences of  the  perfected  future,  to  meet  readily  every 
conceivable  objection  that  could  be  advanced ;  while 
the  scholars  at  Arlington  seem  to  have  been  so 
well  crammed  and  tutored  that  they  neither  fizzle 
nor  flunk.  This,  however,  would  be  expected; 
since  the  Dreamer  suggested  the  question  to  the 
teacher,  and  answers  for  the  scholars  were  all  well 
prepared  to  support  the  theory  designed  to  be  estab- 
lished. 


18  REALITY 

KENLOE'S  "BOOK  OF  THE  BLIND." 

Kenloe's  Book  of  the  Blind,  already  prepared  for 
the  emergency,  is  very  happily  introduced;  and 
every  opponent  of  the  theory  of  economic  equality, 
and  the  question  of  equalization  as  the  basis  of  hu- 
man welfare,  is  summarily  disposed  of  by  arguments 
from  their  own  lips;  or  when  the  overwhelming 
argument  cannot  possibly  be  found,  he  is  straight- 
way laughed  and  ridiculed  out  of  court.  The 
introduction  of  this  book,  said  to  be  nearly  one 
hundred  years  old,  is  one  of  the  many  brilliant 
gems  of  Equality.  It  is  most  interesting  read- 
ing, as  showing  the  line  of  argument  to  sustain  the 
theory  of  economic  equality.  As  to  the  cause  of  its 
compilation.  Dr.  Leete  says:  "  But  Kenloe,  moved 
by  a  certain  crabbed  sense  of  justice,  was  bound  that 
they  should  not  be  forgotten.  Accordingly  he  took 
the  pains  to  compile,  with  great  care  as  to  the 
authenticity,  names,  dates,  and  places,  a  mass  of  ex- 
cerpts from  speeches,  books,  sermons,  and  news- 
papers, in  which  the  apologists  of  private  capitalism 
had  defended  that  system,  and  assailed  the  advocates 
of  economic  equality  during  the  long  period  of  revo- 
lutionary agitation.  Thus  he  proposed  to  pillory 
for  all  time  the  blind  guides  who  had  done  their 
best  to  lead  the  nation  and  the  world  into  the 
ditch." 

Wonderful  Kenloe !  who  had  lived  through  the 
great  Revolution,  had  witnessed  the  tremendous 
wave  of  Altruism  that  swept  the  whole  world  into 
the  embrace  of  brotherly  love,  except  Kenloe,  with 
his  unforgiving  spirit  and  want  of  love ;  whose  chief 
aim  in  compiling  the  Book  of  the  Blind  was  to  ' '  pil- 


THE  DREAMER'S  ARGUMENT  19 

lory  for  all  time  ' '  those  who  had  advocated  and  up- 
held an  industrial  system,  which  has  made  possible 
our  present  most  marvelous  civilization,  and  upon 
which  it  seems  destined  to  rest  for  the  eons  of  the 
future  for  anything  that  appears  in  the  Book  of  the 
Blind. 

"EQUALITY"    AND  ITS  INFLUENCE. 

Equality  will  be  much  read  and  studied ;  and  will 
do  much  good  in  quickening  thought  and  inves- 
tigation, in  remedying  the  delinquencies  of  govern- 
ment, in  checking  the  avarice  and  oppression  of 
private  capital  or  combined  wealth,  in  rapidly  per- 
fecting laws  that  will  insure  the  laborer  his  full 
share  of  the  increment  and  give  wealth  its  proper 
increase,  protection,  and  distribution, —  and  above 
all  in  arousing  and  quickening  the  warmest  sym- 
pathy of  every  patriot  into  the  immediate  enactment 
and  vigorous  enforcement  of  all  laws  for  the  most 
ample  protection  of  every  interest  of  the  laborer. 

THE  EFFECT  ON  THE  READER. 

As  the  entranced  reader  closes  the  book,  comes 
down  from  the  delightful  realm  of  fancy  and  imagi- 
nation of  the  world's  chief  Dreamer,  touches  the 
cold  environment  of  the  actual  realism  and  the  stern 
facts  of  his  everyday  life,  he  will  say:  "  Can  his 
ideals  be  reached;  and,  if  his  premises  be  granted, 
will  his  picture  of  perfected  humanity  in  the  year 
two  thousand  be  realized  in  the  experience  and  life 
of  the  human  race?"  The  stern  answer  of  logic, 
reason,  and  experience  of  the  race,  and  the  develop- 
ment of  the  fundamental  principles  upon  which  all 
the  progress  and   civilization  of  the   race  have   de- 


20  REALITY 

pended,  must  reply,  with  the  accumulated  power  of 
the  world's  consensus  of  opinion,  of  the  laws  of 
God  and  nature,  that  the  Dreamer's  premises  are 
false  and  his  conclusions  erroneous;  that  the  cause 
he  advocates  is  entirely  inadequate  to  produce  the 
effect  he  claims ;  that  the  simple  question  of  main- 
tenance was  settled,  centuries  before  our  modern 
civilization  was  born,  by  the  South  Sea  Islanders, 
the  North  American  Indians,  the  Africans,  and  many 
other  tribes;  that  every  person  must  provide  for 
his  own  support  and  maintenance,  and  that  of  those 
he  has  brought  into  the  world.  That  question  was 
then  rightly  settled  for  all  time.  All  progress  of  the 
race  and  all  civilization  ever  have  rested,  and,  from 
the  great  fundamental  principles  that  underlie  and 
control  all  individual  and  race  action,  ever  will  rest 
and  have  their  basis,  in  the  culture  or  character  of 
the  race,  and  not  upon  any  industrial  system  of 
economic  equality  of  wealth. 

The  whole  argument  is  for  the  establishment  of 
one  idea  of  minor  and  comparatively  insignificant 
importance,  not  even  primal  in  its  nature  and  ex- 
tent ;  and,  when  compared  with  the  other  first  great 
principles  that  are  involved  in  race  progress  and  civ- 
ilization, it  is  entirely  insufficient  as  a  basis  to  support 
the  structure  that  he  has  attempted  to  erect  upon  it. 

The  argument  is  subtile  and  fallacious.  It  is  often 
illogical,  and  the  7ion-sequitnr  frequently  appears.  It 
opposes  and  seeks  to  overthrow,  along  most  lines  of 
human  activities,  the  fundamental  principles  to  which 
our  present  civilization  is  indebted.  It  inverts  the 
philosophy  of  reasoning,  makes  the  minor  the  major 
premise.  It  attempts  to  prove  that  the  less  is  the 
greater;  that  the  valuable  achievements  in   history 


NO  EVIDENCE  OF  PERFECTED  HUMANITY       21 

and  in  individual  experience  are  positively  evil,  be- 
cause not  reached  by  an  economic  basis  of  equality ; 
that  maintenance  is  far  more  important  in  race  de- 
velopment than  freedom  of  thought,  freedom  of 
speech,  freedom  of  will  and  action,  and  individual 
liberty.  It  is  the  most  subtile,  insinuating,  captivat- 
ing exhibition  of  special  pleading  extant  in  litera- 
ture. If  the  reader  but  grant  the  premise,  he  will 
be  pretty  sure  to  accept  the  conclusion.  The  whole 
argument  is  most  pessimistic.  It  seeks  by  every 
possible  theory,  argument,  insinuation,  ridicule, 
sarcasm,  and  the  denial  of  statistics  and  indisputable 
facts  to  belittle  all  race  progress;  all  civilization, 
and  those  who  have  perfected  it;  all  principles  and 
policies  by  which  it  has  been  attained  —  and  all  be- 
cause it  has  not  been  achieved  through  his  theory  of 
economic  equality,  which  is  exalted,  expanded,  and 
magnified  beyond  fair  recognition  of  its  influence  on 
the  progress  of  the  race. 

The  spirit  of  the  argument  is  one  of  hatred  and 
u.ncompromising  hostility  towards  capital,  and  all 
who  labor  for  it,  or  possess  it.  It  is  an  utter  refusal 
to  acknowledge  it  as  anything  else  but  an  evil,  and 
that  always.  It  asserts  that  its  possessors  are 
thieves  and  enemies  of  humanity.  It  ferments  un- 
rest among  the  people,  tends  to  divide  them  into 
classes  of  capitalists  and  laborers,  of  the  wealthy  and 
the  paupers,  without  affording  any  plausible  means 
of  changing  these  relations,  or  bringing  about  the 
perfected  humanity  claimed  to  exist  in  the  year  two 
thousand.  The  author  offers  no  proof  that  humanity 
will  reach  such  conditions,  for  there  is  no  way  of 
obtaining  any  evidence  on  the  subject.  That  part 
of  his  argument  is  all  a  dreani;  and  the  statements 


22  REALITY 

of  Mr.  Barton  and  Dr.  Leete,  as  to  what  would  then 
exist,  are  only  a  part  of  the  Dreamer's  fancy,  and 
are  no  evidence  whatever  of  any  then  existing  con- 
ditions or  facts. 

There  is  little  doubt  but  that  his  view  of  perfected 
humanity  will  be  reached  and  greatly  surpassed  in 
the  next  one  hundred  years ;  but  along  the  lines  of 
thought  and  action,  science  and  love,  now  in  full 
operation  among  the  races  of  men.  To  accomplish 
this  wonderful  change  he  introduces  no  new  scientific 
principle,  intellectual  or  moral  force.  He  does, 
however,  with  heroic  audacity  and  assumption,  claim 
that  Christ's  dream  of  his  earthly  kingdom  has  never 
been  understood;  that  love  in  its  essence  and  re- 
forming power  has  never  been  correctly  experienced, 
appreciated,  and  applied;  that  teachers  of  morals 
and  ethics,  since  the  Star  of  Bethlehem  and  the 
world-transforming  scenes  on  Calvary,  while  claim- 
ing some  special  powers  of  inspiration  and  interpre- 
tation from  God,  Christ,  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  were 
all  mistaken  traitors  both  to  Christ  and  humanity. 
They  were  dishonest  hirelings  selling  their  man- 
hood, their  honor,  their  love  for  a  mess  of  potage 
to  the  capitalists.  All  were  ignorant  dreamers  in 
theory  and  hypocrites  in  practice,  while  dealing 
with  the  most  sacred  treasures  of  the  universe. 
Speculating  upon  the  credulity  and  ignorance  of  the 
people  at  the  behest  of  the  capitalists,  who  paid  them 
liberally  for  their  ignoble,  base,  and  depraved  servi- 
tude. 

The  Dreamer  in  careful  detail  describes  too  much 
on  many  of  the  subjects  treated,  especially  about 
the  perfected  conditions  of  humanity,  which  exist 
only  in  his  hypnotized  fancy  and  newly  discovered 


HEREDITARY  AND  ACQUIRED  WEALTH  23 

theory.  But  he  fails  to  inform  us  what  capitalist 
paid  the  martyr  Stephen  when  he  prayed  for  his 
murderers  that  they  be  forgiven,  ' '  Lord,  lay  not  this 
sin  to  their  charge;  "  nor  who  paid  Paul,  Gamaliel's 
pupil,  one  of  the  most  cultured  of  his  era,  a  master 
logician  and  orator,  a  mighty  seer,  and  one  of  the 
noblest  and  grandest  of  men.  Does  any  one,  not 
dreaming  and  in  his  right  mind,  for  a  moment  be- 
lieve that  Paul,  and  all  the  other  apostles,  and  the 
innumerable  host  of  white-robed  martyrs  in  all  suc- 
ceeding ages,  were  hypocrites,  ignorant  of  the  power 
of  love  and  the  gospel  they  preached,  and  that  they 
were  hirelings  of  the  capitalists  of  their  era? 

He,  like  all  special  pleaders  for  one  idea,  proves  too 
much.  These  worthies  knew  whereof  they  spoke; 
they  were  conscious  of  the  truth  of  their  message, 
and  of  the  power  of  love  in  their  age  and  in  their 
hearts,  and  this  message  has  lost  none  of  its  truthful, 
life-giving  energy  and  hopeful  inspiration  in  the 
present  time.  Innumerable  hosts  in  all  nations  and 
tribes  of  the  earth  believe  in,  experience,  and  con- 
stantly enjoy  this  divinity  of  the  heart.  Honest, 
grand,  noble  men  were  they  who  would  scorn  the  im- 
putation that  they  were  hirelings  to,  or  are  in  any 
way  influenced  in,  their  wills,  soul-experiences,  or 
ethical  relations  by  any  capitalists,  or  any  combina- 
tion of  wealth  the  whole  world  ever  had  or  ever  will 
have. 

HEREDITARY  AND  ACQUIRED  WEALTH. 

It  is  asserted  that  it  is  immoral  to  receive  and  pos- 
sess wealth  by  inheritance  and  that  such  wealth  is 
received  only  by  accident  of  birth.  This  may  as  well 
be  said  of  any  hereditary  possession,  faculty  of  mind 


24  REALITY 

or  soul,  and  excellency  of  bodily  powers.  No  one 
would  claim  that  it  is  immoral  to  inherit  strength  of 
body,  beauty  of  form,  features,  eyes,  or  hair;  nor 
great  intellectual  endowments,  extraordinary  music- 
al or  poetical  powers,  nobility  of  soul,  and  moral 
strength.  Yet  these  are  according  to  fixed  laws  of 
transmission,  the  product  of  the  wisdom,  forethought, 
and  prudent  labor  of  the  parent  or  near  ancestor. 
They  are  not  the  accident  of  birth,  but  of  wise  plans 
and  careful  persistent  effort  in  their  fulfillment.  In 
all  such  matters  it  is  the  better  part  of  wisdom  to 
form  well,  than  to  be  obliged  to  reform  as  soon  as 
the  offspring  is  born.  A  vast  amount  of  suffering 
and  mortification,  of  money,  time,  and  labor  spent  in 
efforts  to  reform  the  race,  could  be  much  more  wisely 
and  effectually  used  in  its  formation,  so  that  none 
but  healthy,  well-endowed  children  be  allowed  to 
increase  the  census. 

Why  is  it  any  more  immoral  for  the  parent  who 
has  earned  wealth  by  hard  labor  and  self-sacrifice 
to  transmit  the  same  to  the  child  of  his  love  and 
affections? 

GOD  HIMSELF  RECOGNIZED  THE  RIGHT  TO  HOLD 
PRIVATE  PROPERTY. 

God  himself,  if  the  Scripture  narrative  be  true, 
recognized  the  right  to  hold  private  property.  In 
the  Decalogue,  handed  down  to  Aloses  on  Mount 
Sinai,  written  it  is  claimed  by  the  finger  of  God 
himself  on  the  tables  of  stone,  one  of  the  commands 
is,  "  Thou  shalt  not  steal."  Here  is  the  reco2"nition 
of  the  sacred  right  of  holding  and  possessing  private 
property.  There  has  never  been  any  question  or 
doubt  as  to  the  meaning  of  this  command.     Stealing 


"  THO U  SHAL T  NOT  STEAL  "  25 

is  the  taking  of  that  which  belongs  to  another  with- 
out permission  or  recompense.  Christ  recognized 
this  same  right  to  private  property  when  he  said, 
"  Render  to  Caesar  the  things  that  are  Caesar's." 

Ao-ain  when  Christ  called  Zaccheus  to  come  down 
from  the  sycamore  tree,  and  informed  him  that  he 
would  abide  with  him  that  night,  he  hastened  down, 
feeling  as  greatly  honored  by  the  invitation  as  the 
Jews  were  dumfounded.  Zaccheus  was  despised  by 
the  Jews  as  a  tax  gatherer  and  an  officer  of  the  hated 
Roman  Empire,  which  then  ruled  over  the  Jewish 
nation. 

It  was  the  first  opportunity  for  Zaccheus  to  vindi- 
cate the  uprightness  of  his  motives  and  life ;  an  op- 
portunity which  this  invitation  of  Christ  had  given 
him.  For  the  Jews  at  once  reasoned  that  the  great 
Messiah  would  not  be  found  supping  and  abiding 
with  an  immoral  and  unworthy  host. 

In  reply  to  the  thoughts  of  the  Jews,  and  their 
frequent  charge  that  he  was  a  thief  and  extortioner, 
he  said:  "  The  half  of  my  goods  I  give  to  the  poor; 
and  if  I  have  taken  anything  from  any  man  by  false 
accusation,  I  restore  him  fourfold."  The  original 
text  conveys  the  idea  that  this  was  the  habit  and  the 
continuous  practice  of  Zaccheus. 

The  Mosaic  law,  claimed  to  be  inspired  directly 
by  God  himself,  in  a  detailed  code  recognized  the 
right  to  hold  private  property  received  by  inherit- 
ance or  accumulated  by  personal  or  organized  effort. 
Every  great  teacher  of  morals  and  all  nations  have 
ever  recognized  the  sacred  right  of  holding  property. 

^Morality  has  been  defined  as  a  code  of  rules  for  the 
behavior  of  men  as  they  are;  or  otherwise,  that  it  is 
a  code  of  rules  of  behavior  for  men  as  they  should  be. 


26  REALITY 

For  those  who  do  not  admit  the  Scriptures  as  au- 
thority it  may  be  said,  that  inheritance  of  property 
and  holding  the  same,  under  the  above  definition, 
cannot  possibly  be  immoral,  since  it  has  been  the  rule 
of  action  among  all  nations  since  the  first  man  left 
the  Garden  of  Eden  to  go  into  business  for  himself 
and  accumulate-  some  money  for  himself  and  his 
heirs. 

INHERITED  AND  ACQUIRED  WEALTH. 

In  addition  to  the  assertion  that  it  is  immoral  and 
an  accident  of  birth  to  receive  and  hold  property 
by  inheritance,  the  Dreamer  declares  that  property 
made  or  accumulated  by  labor,  trade,  or  any  effort 
on  the  part  of  the  producer  is  obtained  by  rascality, 
and  he  who  possesses  it  is  a  rascal.  There  is  only 
one  other  method  of  obtaining  property  and  that  is 
to  steal  it,  which  violates  the  Decalogue.  The  inev- 
itable conclusion  is,  then,  that  it  is  a  crime  by  the 
moral  law  and  the  laws  of  the  race  to  hold  or  possess 
wealth  in  any  form;  that  the  holders  of  property, 
whether  donated  or  an  inheritance  or  accumulated 
by  labor,  are  moral  and  civil  criminals.  In  fact,  he 
asserts  that  all  private  capital  is  stolen  from  the 
general  fund,  whatever  that  may  mean. 

PAGANS  AND  SAVAGES  RECOGNIZE  THE  RIGHT  TO 
HOLD  PRIVATE  PROPERTY. 

The  fact  is,  the  right  to  private  property  was 
recognized  before  any  formal  law  existed.  The  fic- 
tion is,  that  property  is  the  creation  of  law.  School- 
craft informs  us  that  the  American  Indians  recognized 
it,  where  there  was  no  regular  formulated  govern- 
ment ;  that  game  taken  in  private  traps  was  private 
property ;  and  crops  grown  upon  the  land  belonged 


LOCKE'S  PERTINENT  QUESTION  27 

to  the  parties  raising  them,  though  not  the  land  it- 
self. They  recognized  this  right  in  the  fullest  sense 
of  the  word,  without  any  other  authority  among  them 
than  the  decisions  of  the  Elders,  according  to  the 
customs  of  their  forefathers.  The  English  common 
law,  which  fully  recognizes  the  right  to  private 
property,  is  little  else  than  the  embodiment  of  the 
customs  of  the  realm. 

Herbert  Spencer  says,  in  Social  Statistics,  page 
400:  "  How  mutual  limitation  of  activities  originates 
the  ideas  and  sentiments  implied  by  the  phrase 
'  Natural  Rights,'  we  are  shown  most  distinctly  by 
the  few  peaceful  tribes  which  have  either  nominal 
governments,  or  none  at  all.  Beyond  these  facts 
which  exemplify  scrupulous  regard  for  one  another's 
claims  among  the  Todas,  Santals,  Sepchas,  Bodos, 
Chakmas,  Jakuns,  Arafuras,  etc.,  we  have  the  fact 
that  the  utterly  uncivilized  Wood-Veddahs,  without 
any  social  organization  at  all,  think  it  perfectly  in- 
conceivable that  any  person  should  ever  take  that 
which  does  not  belong  to  him,  or  strike  his  fellow, 
or  say  anything  that  is  untrue." 

In  his  dream,  Bellamy  must  have  been  thinking 
of  M.  Proudhon,  who  asserts,  "  All  property  is  rob- 
bery." If  we  cannot  obtain  and  possess  property 
and  have  a  right  to  it,  then  it  follows  that  a  man 
can  have  no  right  to  the  food  he  consumes  to  sustain 
life.  If  we  have  no  right  to  the  food  before  eating 
it,  when  does  that  accrue?  Locke  asks  a  pertinent 
question  when  he  enquires:  "  When  does  the  food 
begin  to  be  his?  When  he  digests?  or  when  he  eats? 
or  when  he  boils?  or  when  he  brings  it  home?  If  no 
previous  acts  can  make  it  his  property,  neither  can 
the  process  of  assimilation  do  it,  not  even  absorption 


28  REALITY 

of  it  into  the  tissues.  Wherefore,  pursuing-  the  idea, 
we  arrive  at  the  curious  conclusion  that,  as  the 
whole  of  our  bones,  muscles,  skin,  etc.  have  thus 
been  built  up  from  nutriment  not  belonging  to  our- 
selves, we  have  no  property  in  our  own  flesh  and 
blood,  have  no  more  claim  to  our  own  limbs  than 
we  have  to  the  limbs  of  another,  and  have  as  good  a 
right  to  our  neighbor's  body  as  he  has  to  his  own. 
Did  we  exist  after  the  same  fashion  as  those  com- 
pound polyps,  in  which  a  number  of  individuals  are 
based  upon  a  living  trunk  common  to  tliem  all,  such 
a  theory  would  be  rational  enough ;  but  until  Com- 
munism can  be  carried  to  that  extent,  it  will  be  best 
to  stand  by  the  old  doctrine." 

But  it  was  absolutely  essential  for  the  Dreamer  to 
establish  the  immorality  of  receiving  property  by 
inheritance  and  accumulation :  or  he  and  his  support- 
ers would  be  found  violating  all  the  moral  law  there 
is,  becoming  actual  thieves  themselves  under  the 
Decalogue  and  God's  command  "  Thou  shalt  not 
steal,"  when  by  political  intrigue  they  obtained 
possession  of  all  the  railroads,  mines,  telegraph 
and  telephone  systems  in  the  beginning  of  the 
transition  period;  and  later  when  they  took  pos- 
session of  all  private  capital  and  accumulated 
wealth  by  arbitrary  power  and  compulsion ;  when 
they  refused  utterly  to  recompense  in  any  way  the 
owners  and  possessors  of  these  vast  properties,  the 
private  capital,  and  accumulated  wealth  of  the  whole 
country,  because,  forsooth,  it  would  be  wrong  and 
immoral  to  recognize  the  right  ever  to  receive  or 
hold  inherited  property,  private  capital,  or  accumu- 
lated wealth.  Even  the  ''  uncouth,  unlettered,  boor- 
ish farmers,"  after  they   have  been  duly  cultured, 


IS  OUR  GOVERNMENT  A  FAILURE  29 


must  have  at  least  a  moral  platform  on  which  to 
stand,  and  justify  themselves  for  participating  in  the 
grandest  steal  of  the  ages. 

The  world  has  never  witnessed  in  the  most  de- 
praved raids  of  robbing  bandits  such  disregard  and 
plundering  of  the  sacred  rights  of  others  under  the 
garb  of  brotherly  love  and  moral  rectitude.  If  there 
are  sentient  beings  there,  interested  in  the  affairs 
of  the  human  race,  then  there  must  be  weeping  in 
heaven  and  exultant  joy  in  sheol  over  the  utter  de- 
pravity of  fallen  men,  who  would  attempt  to  cover 
such  crimes  against  God  and  His  children  with  the 
sacred  mantle  of  morality.  God  never  forbids  to 
one  generation  what  He  endorses  and  approves  in 
another.  He  and  His  moral  law  are  the  same  yes- 
terday, to-day,  and  forever. 

OUR  GOVERNMENT  A  FAILURE. 

His  argument  is  against  the  Government  in  this 
country,  because  he  claims  it  has  failed  to  carry  into 
effect  the  supposed  guarantees  of  the  Constitution, 
granting  its  subjects  the  right  of  life,  liberty,  and  the 
pursuit  of  happiness.  This  simply  pledges  the  power 
of  the  Government  to  protect  the  lives  of  its  citizens 
in  all  lawful  pursuits  and  against  foreign  enemies. 
It  protects  liberty  of  conscience  to  worship  according 
to  its  dictation,  without  interference  of  any  priest- 
hood or  state  religion;  and  protects  them  in  any 
lawful  employment  and  the  pursuit  of  any  pleasures 
or  happiness  not  hostile  to  the  laws  of  the  land,  and 
not  inimical  to  the  rights  of  all  other  citizens,  all 
citizens  being  equal  before  the  courts  and  under 
the  Government.  But  it  nowhere  promises  to  sup- 
port the  citizen  or  any  class  of  citizens,  or  guaran- 


50  REALITY 

tees  their  maintenance.  This  would  be  entirely  be- 
yond the  intention  and  scope  of  the  prerogatives  of 
the  Government  as  intended  by  its  originators.  It 
simply  offered  protection  for  the  exercise  of  the 
God-given  right  and  prerogative  of  self-mainte- 
nance. In  fact  it  was  not  supposed  at  that  time  that 
any  American  citizen  would  be  found  under  his  flag 
so  devoid  of  self-respect,  independence,  and  honor, 
as  ever  to  ask  or  expect  maintenance  by  the  Govern- 
ment. It  might  as  well  be  claimed  that  the  Govern- 
ment should  provide  each  subject  with  so  many  cat- 
tle, sheep,  horses,  so  many  acres  of  improved  farm 
land,  one  of  Ignatius  Donnelly's  air-ships,  and  a 
Pullman  palace  car  for  an  outing  now  and  then. 

This  would  have  utterly  destroyed  that  individu- 
alism, that  pride  of  character,  self-respect,  and  citi- 
zenship, which  was  the  very  object  of  the  originators 
of  free  government,  supported  by  the  free  will  of 
the  citizens,  to  foster,  encourage,  and  develop. 

Washington,  Hamilton,  Jefferson,  and  Jackson 
would  have  crimsoned  with  shame  at  the  suggestion 
that  the  Government  of  this  Republic  through  its 
Constitution  should  ever  guarantee  food,  clothing, 
and  shelter  to  any  of  its  subjects.  The  opportunity 
for  every  citizen,  and  equality  before  the  law  with 
every  other  citizen,  to  earn  his  maintenance  in  a 
lawful  manner,  was  all  it  furnished,  promised,  or 
guaranteed. 

The  Declaration  of  Independence  begins  by  de- 
claring: "  We  hold  these  truths  to  be  self-evident: 
that  all  men  are  created  equal;  that  they  are  en- 
dowed by  their  Creator  with  certain  unalienable 
rights;  that  among  these  are  life,  liberty,  and  the 
pursuit  of  happiness."     This  is  the  opening  of  the 


WUA T  OUR  GO VERNMENT  G UARANTEES  3 1 

Declaration  of  Independence  adopted  July  4,  1776; 
but  the  Constitution  was  not  adopted  until  Sept.  17, 
1787,  and  this  declaration  nowhere  appears  in  the 
'  Constitution.  In  this  part  of  the  Declaration  of  In- 
dependence the  Government  guarantees  nothing.  It 
is  but  the  commencement  of  a  list  of  grievances 
against  the  king  of  Great  Britain. 

The  statement  is  made,  in  the  face  of  indisputa- 
ble facts,  that  our  Government  is  a  failure,  notwith- 
standing the  admission  of  scholars,  statesmen,  and 
students  of  .economics  of  other  nations  and  most 
abundant  statistics  to  demonstrate  that  it  has  been 
the  most  magnificent  success  of  any  government  or 
nation  since  the  historic  period  began.  This  state- 
ment is  made,  because  there  are  found,  relatively,  a 
few,  who  have  failed  to  meet  the  stern  requirements 
of  success  everywhere  —  too  ignorant  and  incompe- 
tent to  put  forth  the  little  effort  necessary  for  simple 
maintenance. 

Honesty,  self-reliance,  intellectual  capacity,  and 
moral  power  are  not  created  by  statute  laws,  or  put 
into  the  race  by  constitutional  requirements.  All 
that  ought  to  be  done  by  the  wisest  and  most  hu- 
mane governments  is,  to  furnish  an  opportunity  for 
all  to  exercise  and  develop  these  faculties  of  their 
subjects.  This  our  Government  has  most  wisely 
and  amply  done. 

Gladstone,  one  of  the  foremost  statesmen  of  this 
century,  says,  "  The  American  Constitution  is,  as 
far  as  I  can  see,  the  most  wonderful  work  ever 
struck  off  at  a  given  time  by  the  brain  and  purpose 
of  man."  Lord  Salisbury,  the  present  English 
Premier,  says,  "  The  Americans  have  a  Senate — I 
wish  we  could  institute  it  here  —  marvelous   in   its 


32  REALITY 

Strength  and  efficiency.  .  .  .  Their  Supreme 
Court  gives  a  stability  to  their  institutions,  which 
under  the  system  of  vague  and  mysterious  promises 
here  we  look  for  in  vain." 

ALL  MEN  ARE  NOT  BORN  EQUAL. 

The  advocates  of  Social  Democracy,  Communism, 
and  Anarchy  are  mistaken,  when  they  claim  that  all 
men  are  born  equal  and  must  remain  so  for  the  great- 
est development  in  life.  In  fact,  inequality  is  the 
rule  of  life,  by  both  birth  and  culture.  Using  that 
term  in  its  usual  significance,  all  men  are  not  born 
with  equal  capacities  and  powers  of  head,  heart,  and 
body ;  nor  is  it  possible  for  them  ever  to  become  equal 
and  remain  so  through  the  varied  experiences  of  life. 

It  is  impossible  to  show  by  science,  revelation,  or 
sound  philosophical  reasoning,  any  point  from  the 
earliest  protoplastic  life  until  death  ends  the  scene, 
where  any  two  human  lives  are  equal.  There  seems 
to  be  no  way  of  ascertaining  the  causes  which  make 
men  unequal  in  important  respects.  The  conditions 
demanded  cannot  possibly  be  obtained.  They  are 
unnatural  and  contrary  to  every  known  law  of  crea- 
tion and  development.  Demands  for  equality  are 
not  in  accord  with  the  ante-  or  post-natal  laws  and 
conditions  of  life.  They  are  opposed  to  the  doctrine 
of  hereditary  forces  and  contrary  to  all  experience  in 
every  department  of  life  and  culture. 

Scarcely  anything  is  known  of  hereditary  forces. 
After  the  most  careful  investigation  of  germ-cells  in 
the  laboratory  of  reproduction,  little  is  known  of  the 
causes  which  differentiate  persons. 

Prof.  E.  B.  Wilson  says,  in  the  Cell  in  Development 
and  Inheritance,   p.  330:   "  After  tracing  all  the  trans- 


EQUALITY  OF  COMMUNISM  33 

formations  through  which  the  cells  pass  on  the  way 
from  inception  to  new  individuals  in  plant,  animal, 
and  human  creation,  we  cannot  close  our  eyes  to 
the  fact  that  we  are  utterly  ignorant  of  the  manner 
in  which  the  idioplasm  of  the  germ-cell  can  so  re- 
spond to  the  play  of  the  physical  forces  upon  it  as  to 
call  forth  an  adaptive  variation." 

Though  unable  to  explain  the  phenomena,  we 
know  the  fact  exists,  of  wonderful  diversities  of 
powers  in  the  same  family  and  with  the  same  envi- 
ronment. One  member  may  inherit  a  fine  physique, 
strong  from  birth  in  muscle  and  nerve  power,  a  sound 
body  for  a  sound  mind  to  inhabit;  while  another 
from  the  same  parentage  may  inherit  a  weakness  all 
through  his  body.  Then,  again,  members  of  the 
same  family  and  practically  the  same  environment 
are  not  equal  at  birth.  One  enters  life  with  the 
most  favorable  environment  and  another  with  the 
most  unfavorable.  It  would  be  a  miracle  contrary 
to  all  laws  of  development  if  they  should  ever  be- 
come equal  in  the  experiences  of  the  head,  heart,  and 
body.  There  can  be  no  equal  opportunities  for  per- 
sons so  unequal  at  birth. 

Even  the  aim  of  Communism  —  the  equality  of  pains 
and  pleasures,  not  of  consumable  things  and  tasks  — 
can  never  be  realized ;  for  the  simple  reason  that  no 
two  human  beings,  much  less  the  whole  race,  have 
the  same  capacities  or  powers  for  suffering  pains  or 
enjoying  pleasures.  What  is  pain  to  one  may  be 
sweet  relief  to  another,  under  exactly  the  same  line 
of  development  and  environment.  What  may  give 
exquisite  pleasure  to  one,  may  afford  great  pain  to 
another;  and  this  too  when  the  things,  the  capaci- 
ties, powers,  experiences,  and  qualities  of  experiences 


34  REALITY 

are  subject  to  comparison.  There  are  many  experi- 
ences which  cannot  be  compared,  there  being  no 
likeness  or  similarity  for  comparison  in  quantity  or 
quality,  and  no  possible  standard  for  testing  the 
quantity  or  quality  or  the  extremes  reached  in  the 
development.  Joy  and  grief  are  never  weighed  with 
scales,  nor  hope  and  fear  measured  with  a  yardstick, 
nor  the  temperature  of  a  soul  tormented  with  shame 
and  remorse  taken  with  a  thermometer. 

There  is  no  possible  way  of  equalizing  or  compar- 
ing the  musical  genius  of  Blind  Tom  with  the  intel- 
lectual achievements  of  Gladstone.  The  great  musical 
talent  and  culture  of  Paderewski  cannot  be  com- 
pared with  the  historical  genius  of  Herodotus.  Their 
mental  and  heart  endowments  were  so  different  at 
birth,  and  evolved  along  widely  different  lines  ever 
since,  that  at  no  point  were  they  ever  on  an  equality. 
Nor  is  there  any  possible  method  of  weighing  or  com- 
paring their  progress,  to  determine  whether  the  ratio 
of  use  and  development  of  native  powers  had  been 
equal  or  the  same  in  kind  and  degree. 

This  would  be  true  and  possible  should  we  attempt 
to  equalize  comparable  things,  quantities  and  quali- 
ties which  are  similar  and  which  are  developed  along 
the  same  or  kindred  lines  of  experience  and  growth. 
But  even  this  can  only  be  approximately  done.  The 
intellectual  powers  of  Bismarck  and  Gladstone,  both 
distinguished  for  great  mental  strength  and  acumen, 
cannot  be  accurately  compared  or  equalized ;  for, 
while  the  attainments  of  both  have  been  great  in 
many  lines  of  growth,  yet  there  is  no  standard  for 
comparing  or  weighing  or  estimating  the  mentality 
either  possesses,  though  each  has  become  distin- 
guished along  lines  of  mental  action. 


EQUALITY  AND  HISTORY  35 

Human  life  is  made  up  of  thought,  feeling,  and 
action.  The  intellectual  and  mental  life  is  the  think- 
ing, planning,  and  reasoning.  It  is  the  work  of  the 
head.  The  life  of  feeling,  emotion,  vSympathy,  and 
love  is  the  work  of  the  heart.  The  will  power  puts 
into  action  the  forces  of  the  head  and  heart. 

Men  are  great  in  proportion  to  the  possession  of 
the  intellectual  and  the  sympathetic,  and  the  man- 
ner of  using  these  forces  of  the  head  and  heart  in 
the  varied  activities  of  human  life. 

No  two  have  ever  been  found  with  the  same 
amount  of  head  and  heart  power  at  birth,  and  no 
two  were  ever  endowed  with  the  same  courage  and 
energy  in  putting  into  action  their  powers.  The 
result  of  life's  experiment  must  be  different  in  every 
life.  No  two  can  be  equal,  or  exactly  like  any  others, 
in  the  possession  and  use  of  life's  forces.  Some  men 
are  conspicuous  for  greatness  of  intellect,  for  cere- 
bration ;  some  for  unlimited  sympathies  and  altruis- 
tic tendencies  and  relations ;  while  others  surpass  in 
clever  and  ever  successful  action  in  putting  into 
effect  the  thoughts  of  the  head  and  the  sympathetic 
emotions  of  the  heart. 

Some  one  of  the  powers  of  the  head  or  heart  usual- 
ly predominate,  or  a  conspicuous  skill  and  wisdom 
in  carrying  them  into  effect. 

The  elder  Napoleon,  Julius  Caesar,  and  Bismarck 
were  men  of  tremendous  head  power.  They  were 
men  of  surpassing  mentality,  great  thinkers,  plan- 
ners, and  reasoners,  yet  largely  devoid  of  the  altruis- 
tic and  sympathetic  emotions  of  the  heart ;  while  they 
possessed  in  a  large  degree  the  courage  of  their  con- 
victions and  the  power  to  carry  them  into  effect. 

Von  Moltke  and  Wellington  were  not  conspicuous 


36  REALITY 

for  great  intellectual  powers,  nor  for  altruistic  sym- 
pathies, but  were  marked  in  history  for  persistent 
effort,  wonderful  self-control,  undaunted  courage, 
and  heroic  action  in  the  hours  of  greatest  danger. 

Shakespeare,  Lincoln,  and  Socrates  were  highly 
endowed  with  all  three  of  these  potent  forces, — 
thought,  feeling,  and  successful  action.  In  their 
lives  they  seemed  to  have  reached  the  goal  of  satis- 
factory human  effort.  Yet  these  men  cannot  be 
compared  with  each  other,  the}'-  were  so  entirely 
unlike  in  their  capacities  and  lines  of  development; 
much  less  could  they  be  considered  on  a  basis  of 
equality. 

These  men  have  a  most  conspicuous  place  on  the 
world's  scroll  of  fame,  because  they  were  great  in  the 
realm  of  thought  and  feeling  and  sufficiently  cour- 
ageous in  action. 

Shakespeare  easily  towers  above  all  in  intellectual 
greatness,  while  at  the  same  time  he  is  universal  in 
his  feelings  and  his  altruistic  sympathies  and  rela- 
tions. He  sounds  the  depths  of  the  human  heart  as 
no  other  ever  has  done.  He  plays  with  great  ease 
and  familiarity'  with  the  whole  range  of  human 
thought,  hope,  fear,  worship,  and  passion ;  and  hence 
receives  a  response  from  every  one  who  reads  him. 

Lincoln  in  five  years  went  from  comparative  ob- 
scurity to  w^orld-wide  fame  and  celebrit)^  It  was 
not  a  miracle,  nor  alone  the  result  of  environment. 
The  opportunity  came,  and  he  was  prepared  by  en- 
dowment and  culture  to  improve  it  to  the  uttermost. 
A  weak  man  would  have  failed ;  and  the  magnificent 
opportunity,  the  greatest  in  history,  would  have 
made  the  weakness  and  failure  the  more  conspicuous, 
as  was  the  case  with  the  many  generals  who  preceded 


EQUALITY  OF  SOCIAL  DEMOCRACY  37 


General  Grant  in  the  command  of  the  armies  of  the 
Republic  in  the  War  of  1861. 

The  advocates  of  Social  Democracy  insist  on  the 
equalization  of  opportunity  by  the  opening  of  all  the 
doors  of  life's  activities  by  the  civil  and  political 
powers  of  the  nation.  The  fact  is  in  this  country 
the  doors  of  opportunity  are  all  practically  wide  open 
to  all  those  who  are  prepared  to  enter.  And  they 
certainly,  in  justice  to  the  nation,  ought  not  to  open  to 
any  others.  There  can  be  no  equality  of  opportunity 
to  any,  except  those  fully  equipped  to  embrace  the 
opportunity,  fully  discharge  all  its  duties,  and  appre- 
ciate and  enjoy  its  emoluments.  This  will  apply  to 
every  pursuit  of  life  and  the  educational  efforts  that 
make  the  necessary  preparation  for  it.  Education 
and  suitable  employment  practically  cover  all  grounds 
of  complaint.  The  educational  opportunity,  in  this 
country  at  least,  is  not  only  given  but  usually  forced 
upon  the  rising  generations  through  the  public 
schools.  But  owing  to  the  varied  desires  for  culture 
and  the  different  capacities  of  the  scholars,  the  re- 
sults are  not  at  all  the  same. 

This  is  true  in  the  colleges  and  universities  as 
much  as  in  the  public  schools.  Neither  the  fine 
scholars  nor  the  dullards  are  benefited  to  the  high- 
est degree,  because  of  their  varied  powers  and  capa- 
cities and  the  utter  impossibility  to  equalize  the  effort 
sufficient  to  meet  fairly  the  capacities  of  the  scholar 
and  of  the  dullard.  The  best  educational  thought 
of  to-day  is  back  to  the  Socratic  method  of  the  in- 
dividual contact  of  the  scholar  with  his  instructor. 
The  class  system,  or  the  equalization  method,  is  a 
confessed  failure,  when  compared  with  that  of  indi- 
vidual contact.     This  is  a  fair  illustration  of  the  utter 


38  REAUrV 

failure  of  equalized  opportunity.  There  can  be  no 
such  thing,  except  in  a  most  general  way,  because  of 
the  inequality  of  men  both  by  birth  and  culture.  The 
importance,  however,  of  education  is  emphasized ;  for 
the  reason  that  along  the  whole  line  of  human  activ- 
ities, with  the  same  environment,  it  makes  the  differ- 
ence between  success  and  failure.  With  it  success 
is  always  probable,  without  it  failure  is  quite  certain. 
This  is  true  of  every  calling  of  manual  labor, 
intellectual  employment,  or  any  other  human  activ- 
ity. There  can  be  no  successful  equalizing  of  oppor- 
tunity, because  of  the  insurmountable  variety  of  ca- 
pacity and  attainment  in  the  human  family.  All 
successful  training  in  every  department  is  achieved 
by  selection,  and  is  on  the  individual  and  not  collec- 
tive, and  on  the  masses. 

There  would  be  little  ground  for  complaint  against 
our  laws  or  form  of  government,  if  the  right  men 
were  in  the  right  places,  and  superior  knowledge  and 
fitness  for  official  positions  were  insisted  upon.  But, 
sad  to  say,  the  tendency  is  oftentimes  to  fill  very  im- 
portant positions  with  mere  political  rubbish,  which 
cannot  possibly  be  equalized;  for  there  is  nothing 
with  which  it  can  be  compared.  Methods,  it  is  to  be 
hoped  and  expected,  will  change,  by  which  superior- 
ity of  gifts  and  fitness  for  the  position  will  always  be 
a  necessity  for  every  candidate  for  office. 

Economic  evils,  like  most  others  in  the  body  poli- 
tic, largely  arise  from  the  unprincipled  and  incom- 
petent men  occupying  positions  they  are  not  qualified 
by  nature  and  culture  to  fill.  It  does  not  relieve  the 
situation,  because  the  leopard  fails  successfully  to  do 
the  work  of  the  kangaroo,  since  his  long  legs  are 
where  his  short  ones  ought  to  be. 


IV//A  r  LECKY  SA  YS  39 


Society  ought  not  to  be  continually  humiliated  by 
the  failure  of  incompetent  officials,  when  there  are 
men  in  abundance  to  meet  successfully  the  demands 
of  every  official  trust.  The  solution  of  every  polit- 
ical question  that  now  vexes  the  people  is  in 
their  own  hands.  It  is  simply  to  elect  competent, 
honest  officials.  They  exist  in  abundance  in  every 
community ;  but  they  have  not  been  seeking  office  in 
every  possible  way,  for  the  last  two  or  ten  years  or 
more,  for  a  lifetime.  When  will  the  dear  people 
open  their  eyes  and  choose  their  own  officials,  and 
not  be  compelled  to  vote  for  men  who  are  ever  seek- 
ing to  serve  themselves  at  the  expense  of  the  people? 

Superior  gifts  and  powers  should  always  be  in- 
sisted upon  in  all  officials.  The  public  service  is 
greatly  varied  and  always  requires  different  capaci- 
ties and  cultured  powers ;  hence  the  most  gifted  and 
thoroughly  equipped  should  ever  be  selected  for 
official  positions  in  a  free  government. 

It  is  therefore  apparent  that  any  effort  to  recon- 
struct society  on  any  theory  of  equality  of  all  classes 
of  its  varied  citizenship  is  contrary  to  the  plan  of  the 
Creative  Power,  opposed  to  all  primal  laws  of  growth 
and  development,  and  must  therefore  fail. 

This  is  true  of  what  are  termed  natural  as  well  as 
civil  or  political  powers  and  privileges,  though  not, 
perhaps,  in  the  same  degree.  It  would  be  most  in- 
equitable to  compel  the  law  of  equality  where  only 
inequality  by  birth  and  culture  existed. 

Lecky  says,  in  Democracy  and  Liberty,  Vol.  II.,  p. 
369:  "  But  proposed  changes  which  conflict  with 
fundamental  laws  and  elements  of  human  nature 
can  never,  in  the  long  run,  succeed.  The  sense  of 
right  and  wrong,  which  is  the  basis  of  respect  for  the 


40  REALITY 

obligation  of  contract ;  the  feeling  of  family  affection, 
on  which  the  continuity  of  society  depends,  and  out 
of  which  the  system  of  heredity  grows ;  the  essential 
difference  of  men  in  aptitudes,  capacities,  and  char- 
acter are  things  that  can  never  be  changed,  and  all 
schemes  and  policies  that  ignore  them  are  doomed  to 
ultimate  failure." 

Inequality  or  variety  is  one  of  the  most  conspicu- 
ous thoughts  of  the  creative  plan  in  the  universe  of 
God.  It  is  emblazoned  on  the  very  brow  of  the  uni- 
verse in  most  brilliant  forms,  to  be  read  by  all  gen- 
erations and  in  all  ages  of  history.  It  is  the  fact  of 
creative  power,  while  equality  is  the  attempted 
fiction  of  men.  It  is  the  eternal  Reality,  while 
Equality  is  a  dream  of  passing  idealists.  It  is  empha- 
sized all  through  the  universe,  from  the  glowworm 
to  the  suns  in  the  solar  system.  The  planets,  the 
moons,  the  comets,  the  asteroids,  and  the  Milky  Way 
• — all  have  different  dimensions  and  orbits  of  motion. 

It  is  written  all  over  the  geography  of  our  little 
sphere ;  in  the  gentle  hill  and  the  towering  moun- 
tain; in  the  joyful,  babbling  brook  and  the  solemn, 
mighty  river;  in  the  Smillie's  Mirror  Lake  at  Red- 
lands,  California,  and  the  largest  ocean  of  the  world ; 
in  the  tiny  willow  twig  on  the  banks  of  the  marshy 
rivulet  and  the  great  redwood  trees  of  California; 
in  the  tiniest  minnow  and  the  whale  and  the  mega- 
lichthys.  All  vegetable,  floral,  and  tree  life  bear 
emphatic  testimony  of  its  universality  throughout  all 
creative  life.  Mankind  and  all  animal  life  are  no 
exception  to  its  universal  existence. 

Every  age  and  nation  have  their  big  men  physi- 
cally ;  have  their  men  of  large  capacity ;  and  their 
great  men  of  vast  intellectual,  moral,  and  spiritual 


THE  EFFECTS  OF  INEQUALITY  41 

power,  dominating  the  experiences  of  the  human 
race. 

Inequality  differentiates  men  in  their  conduct  and 
attainments.  Unequal  gifts  and  powers  and  the  use 
of  them  can  only  account  for  a  holy  Pascal  and  a 
murderous  Guiteau ;  a  Shakespeare  and  a  Feejee 
Islander;  a  Caesar  and  a  Bonaparte,  and  an  arrant 
coward. 

It  accounts  for  Abraham,  the  Father  of  the  faith- 
ful, leaving  his  Ur  of  the  Chaldees,  wandering  to 
Haran,  and  then  to  old  Canaan  of  the  better  Judean 
civilization  to  establish  his  nation  and  realize  his 
hopes  and  aspirations.  It  explains  the  migrations 
of  the  modern  Father  Abraham  who  left  his  Ur  of 
Kentucky  for  the  free  soil  of  Illinois,  where  he  be- 
came the  leader  of  the  greatest  Republic  of  all  his- 
tory in  the  establishment  of  a  permanent  govern- 
ment of  the  people,  by  the  people,  and  for  the 
people.  It  explains  the  tremendous  struggle  at  Vicks- 
burg,  Gettysburg,  and  Appomattox,  where  one  of  the 
greatest  enemies  of  the  race,  human  slavery,  went 
down  into  a  grave  from  which  there  is  no  resur- 
rection by  means  of  the  sword  of  the  loftiest  spirit 
of  Altruism.  It  throws  a  light  upon  all  scientific  re- 
search, upon  all  philosophical  effort  to  unravel  the 
mysteries  of  race  culture  and  development,  upon  all 
ethical,  religious,  and  spiritual  manifestations,  hopes, 
and  aspirations.  From  no  other  standpoint  can  the 
manifestations  of  God  in  the  creation  of  the  universe 
and  in  the  history  of  the  human  race  be  explained. 

Inequality  of  gifts  and  powers  and  the  opportuni- 
ties and  use  of  them  is  the  sesame  that  explains  all 
revelation  and  scientific  development  in  what  we  call 
evolution  and  culture.     If,  therefore,   inequality  of 


42  REALITY 

gifts  and  powers  is  a  fundamental  fact,  the  plan  of 
God  in  all  creation  and  development,  how  infinitely 
futile  must  be  all  efforts  of  men  to  reduce  to  an  equal- 
ity these  God-given  natural  gifts  and  powers,  in  all 
attempts  to  develop  the  race  into  a  so-called  perfected 
humanity !  It  is  simply  an  effort  to  leave  the  Crea- 
tor out  of  the  problem  of  race  culture  and  develop- 
ment, to  make  supreme  the  wisdom  of  man  over  that 
of  his  Maker,  and  must,  in  the  ultimate  result,  utter- 
ly fail. 

Herbert  Spencer  says:  "  Our  first  principle  re- 
quires, not  that  all  shall  have  like  shares  of  the  things 
which  minister  to  the  gratification  of  the  faculties, 
but  that  all  shall  have  like  freedom  to  pursue  those 
things — shall  have  like  scope.  It  is  one  thing  to 
give  to  each  an  opportunity  of  acquiring  the  objects 
he  desires;  it  is  another  and  quite  a  different  thing, 
to  give  the  objects  themselves,  no  matter  whether 
due  endeavor  has  or  has  not  been  made  to  obtain 
them.  Nay,  more,  it  necessitates  an  absolute  viola- 
tion of  the  principle  of  equal  freedom.  For  when 
we  assert  the  entire  liberty  of  each,  bounded  only 
by  the  like  liberties  of  all,  we  assert  that  each  is 
free  to  do  whatever  his  desires  dictate,  within  the 
prescribed  limits  —  that  each  one  is  free,  therefore, 
to  claim  for  himself  all  those  gratifications,  and 
sources  of  gratification,  which  he  can  procure  with- 
out trespassing  on  the  spheres  of  action  of  his  neigh- 
bors. If,  therefore,  out  of  many  starting  with  like 
fields  of  activity,  one  obtains,  by  his  greater  strength, 
greater  ingenuity,  or  greater  application,  more  grati- 
fications and  sources  of  gratification  than  the  rest, 
the  moral  law  assigns  him  an  exclusive  right  to  all 
those   extra  gratifications  and    sources   of  gratifica- 


THE  CLASSES  AND  MASSES  43 

tion,  nor  can  the  rest  take  from  him  without  claim- 
ing- for  themselves  greater  liberty  of  action  than  he 
claims,  and  thereby  violating  that  law.  Whence  it 
follows  that  an  equal  apportionment  of  the  fruits  of 
the  earth  among  all  is  not  consistent  with  pure 
justice." 

THE  CLASSES  AND  MASSES. 

In  the  classification  of  our  citizens,  in  this  coun- 
try at  least,  and  undoubtedly  the  world  over,  the 
Dreamer  is  wrong.  He  declares  that  all  the  capital 
and  wealth  of  the  world  are  owned  by  one-tenth  of 
the  population,  and  nine-tenths  are  paupers  in  abject 
moral  depravity;  that  under  the  forms  of  law  it 
might  all  be  owned  by  one  man.  This  last  asser- 
tion is  too  dreamy  and  absurd  to  notice.  The  face 
of  the  assertion  refutes  and  denies  the  statement. 

As  to  the  other  declaration,  nine-tenths  of  the  people 
owning  the  wealth  and  one-tenth  having  no  visible 
wealth,  would  have  been  much  nearer  the  truth. 
This  statement  is  often  made  in  the  classification  of 
the  capitalists  and  toiling  masses  —  the  meaning  in- 
tended to  be  conveyed  is,  that  one-tenth  of  the  popu- 
lation own  and  enjoy  all  the  wealth  of  this  country, 
while  the  other  nine-tenths  are  the  toiling  masses, 
held  in  abject  and  hopeless  slavery  by  the  capital- 
ists and  the  wealth  of  our  land.  He  wisely  refrains 
from  using  any  reliable  statistics  to  prove  this  as- 
sertion, although  there  is  an  abundance  of  them  on 
this  subject.  Perhaps  it  would  be  asking  too  much 
of  a  dreamer  to  descend  to  the  use  of  vulgar  statis- 
tics, sometimes  truthful,  to  prove  the  results  of  a 
fanciful  dream. 

It  is  stated,  "  Before  the  Revolution  very  few  peo- 


44  REALITY 

pie  had  any  property  at  all  and  no  economic  provision 
save  from  day  to  day."  The  reverse  of  this  is  the 
truth.  Most  of  the  people  in  this  land  have  some 
money  and  property  and  are  profitably  employed, 
at  least  earning  enough  to  maintain  themselves  and 
those  dependent  upon  their  efforts.  Even  in  these 
times  of  general  depression  in  most  lines  of  business, 
two-thirds  or  three-quarters  of  the  laboring  classes 
have  found  employment  and  at  least  living  wages 
during  the  last  three  or  four  years  of  what  are  called 
hard  times,  or  as  he  designates  them,  panics,  gluts, 
crises,  and  over-production. 

NO  CLASSES  AND  MASSES. 

The  farmers  composing  nearly  one-half  of  the 
population,  included  always  with  the  toiling  masses, 
are  reluctantly  admitted  to  be  small  capitalists. 

It  will  be  assumed  that  any  one,  possessing  or  own- 
ing a  farm  or  home  or  a  sufficiently  large  interest  in 
the  farm  or  other  property  or  wealth  that  does  not 
compel  daily  labor  to  meet  daily  expenses,  must  be 
considered  a  small  capitalist;  and  those  who  are 
compelled  to  labor  for  wages  to  meet  each  day's 
maintenance  are,  for  the  purpose  of  this  discussion, 
classed  as  daily  laborers.  This  is  the  only  fair  clas- 
sification, and  if  so,  what  becomes  of  the  nine-tenths 
of  the  toiling  inasses? 

Laborers  who  are  paid  by  their  employers  stipu- 
lated wages  for  their  services  are  embraced  in  the  term 
of  laborers ;  while  all  other  laborers,  whose  income 
proceeds  from  the  sale  of  their  products  of  the  farm, 
the  mill,  the  mine,  or  other  business,  and  who  are 
dependent  upon  the  profitable  conduct  of  the  business 
where  more  or  less  capital  is  invested,  are  capitalists. 


THE  FARMERS  45 


Many,  who  work  for  wages,  own  their  homes  and 
have  property  in  many  other  forms,  and  are  what 
are  called  well-to-do  small  capitalists.  Henry  George 
and  many  other  writers  make  different  classifications, 
but  for  all  practical  purposes  this  is  sufficient.  It 
will  thus  be  seen  that  the  toiling  masses  include  only 
those  who  are  obliged  to  labor  for  daily  mainte- 
nance, and  are  relatively  but  a  small  fraction  of  the 
population. 

THE  FARMERS. 

The  argument  is  most  unfair  and  unjust  to  one- 
half  of  the  population  —  the  farmers.  It  pictures 
the  farmer  as  "  the  most  pathetic  figure  in  history." 
In  the  ages  of  slavery  his  was  "  the  lowest  class  of 
slaves."  He  endured  more  than  the  poverty  of  the 
wage-earner  without  his  freedom  from  care,  and  all 
the  anxiety  of  the  capitalist  without  his  hope  of 
compensation. 

If  the  crops  failed,  the  farmer  perished;  if  they 
prospered,  the  middleman  took  the  profits.  Standing 
as  a  buffer  between  the  elemental  forces  and  human 
society,  he  was  smitten  by  the  one  only  to  be  thrust 
back  by  the  other.  Bound  to  the  soil,  he  fell  into  a 
commercial  serfdom  to  the  cities  well  nigh  as  com- 
plete as  the  feudal  bondage  had  been.  By  reason  of 
his  isolated  and  unsocial  life,  he  was  uncouth,  unlet- 
tered, out  of  touch  with  culture,  without  opportuni- 
ties for  self-improvement,  even  if  his  bitter  toil  had 
left  him  energy  or  time  for  it.  For  this  reason  the 
dwellers  in  the  towns  looked  down  upon  him  as  one 
belonging  to  an  inferior  race.  In  all  lands,  in  all 
ages,  the  countryman  has  been  considered  a  proper 
butt  by  the  most  loutish  townsman.  The  starving 
proletarian  of  the  city  pavement  scoffed  at  the  farmer 


46  REALITY 

as  a  boor.  Voiceless,  there  was  none  to  speak  for 
him,  and  his  rude,  inarticulate  complaints  were  met 
with  jeers. 

This  cruel,  unsympathetic,  grossly  exaggerated, 
absolutely  untruthful,  dark  and  besmirched  picture 
of  one-half  of  our  population  and  their  condition,  is 
a  fair  specimen  of  the  modern  Dreamer's  treatment 
of  all  the  great  religious,  intellectual,  moral,  and  in- 
dustrial forces,  that  have  made  our  present  civiliza- 
tion and  will  direct  and  control  all  future  progress 
of  the  race.  Yet  these  lowest  of  slaves,  poorer  than 
the  wage-earner,  the  constant  prey  of  the  middle- 
man, these  buffers  between  the  elemental  forces  and 
human  society,  serfs  to  the  cities'  commerce,  un- 
couth, uncultured,  unlettered,  belonging  to  an  infe- 
rior race  in  all  lands  and  ages,  a  proper  butt  for  the 
most  loutish  townsman  —  these  farmers  were  the 
most  potent  factors  in  the  great  claimed  Revolution, 
and  its  most  willing  and  ardent  supporters. 

The  reader  is  instantly  prompted  to  ask,  whence  this 
mighty,  marvelous  change ;  this  incomprehensible  up- 
lift of  this  mass  of  down-trodden,  "  uncultured,  unlet- 
tered, boorish  human  rubbish,"  comprising  one-half 
of  our  population,  to  the  perfected  humanity  of  the 
twentieth  century?  The  Dreamer's  answer  is  "  Cul- 
ture;"  for  he  claims  they  had  no  economic  system. 

In  all  ages  and  among  all  nations  farming  has  ever 
been  considered  the  most  healthy,  ennobling,  and 
honorable  of  occupations ;  nor  has  the  calling  lost  any 
of  these  exalted  characteristics  in  the  present  day. 
The  farmers  of  to-day  are  the  most  patriotic,  honor- 
able, and  upright  class  of  our  citizens.  They  keep 
fully  abreast  of  every  wave  of  modern  improvement, 
they  scorn  with  righteous  indignation  the  untruthful 


WHA  T  THE  Y  ARE  47 

picture  of  their  condition,  the  uncalled-for,  inappro- 
priate, and  degrading  epithets  applied  to  them  and 
their  noble  calling.  They  are,  as  a  class,  honorable, 
prosperous,  happy,  and  contented.  They  are  by  far 
the  greatest  producers ;  and  their  condition  is  prob- 
ably the  most  satisfactory,  in  every  respect,  of  any  class 
of  our  citizens.  Worshipful,  moral,  patriotic,  ambi- 
tious, eager  for  every  form  of  culture  and  develop- 
ment, the  most  enthusiastic  supporters  of  schools, 
colleges,  and  universities,  ever  replenishing  the  effete 
and  exhausted  life  of  the  cities  with  their  healthy 
blood,  clear  intellects,  and  sound  morals.  No  worthy 
cause  or  the  flag  of  our  country  ever  appeals  to  them 
in  vain.  They  are  the  bone  and  sinew,  brain  and 
heart,  of  our  best  individual  and  national  life.  They 
comprise  one-half  of  our  population  and  that  prob- 
ably, everything  considered,  the  better  half.  They 
possess  on  an  average  more  culture  and  develop- 
ment along  many  lines  of  human  activity  than  any 
other  class,  not  even  capitalists  excepted.  The  pic- 
ture given  in  the  dream  never  was  literally  true  in 
any  period  of  historic  development.  To-day,  it  has 
scarcely  a  semblance  of  truth  in  any  part  of  it.  The 
farmers  of  to-day  cannot  be  recognized  in  it.  The 
marvelous  inventions  of  the  last  few  decades  have 
largely  freed  them  from  the  drudgery  of  much  se- 
vere manual  labor,  have  brought  a  good  market  for 
every  product  to  their  very  door,  and  made  farming 
one  of  the  most  independent  and  honorable  as  well 
as  lucrative  of  occupations. 

THE  EDUCATORS. 

But,   while   the   Dreamer   is    severe    to    make    his 
point  in  his  treatment  of  one-half  of  our  citizens, 


48  REALITY 

the  farmers,  his  description  of  them  is  lenient  and 
merciful  when  compared  with  his  denunciation  of  the 
noble  mothers  and  women,  the  religious  and  moral 
teachers,  the  presidents  and  professors  in  the  colleges 
and  universities  and  the  public  schools,  and  that  ines- 
timable power  for  good,  the  modern  journalistic 
press.  All  this  vast  army, —  generally  upright  and 
cultured  in  physical,  mental,  and  soul  force;  patri- 
otic and  altruistic;  the  very  yeast  of  the  universe, 
constantly  lifting  the  race  to  higher  and  ever  more 
exalted  planes  of  life,  experience,  and  love, —  are  all 
with  a  stroke  of  the  pen  disposed  of,  cast  aside,  and 
hurled  into  ignominious  oblivion,  as  dishonest, 
traitorous,  absolute  slaves,  begging  at  the  feet  of 
capitalists  for  such  a  maintenance  as  they  may  be 
pleased  from  their  avarice  to  spare  them,  to  sustain 
their  miserable  existence. 

The  picture  of  the  farmer  is  very  dark,  but  no 
X-ray  can  discover  any  relieving  shade  in  the  pic- 
tured villainy  of  these  men  and  women.  According 
to  the  Dreamer,  very  little  could  be  expected  from 
the  "unlettered,  boorish  farmer;"  but  these  men 
have  had  the  best  of  scholastic,  philosophic,  scientif- 
ic, artistic,  and  moral  training.  Some  of  them  even 
claimed  to  have  been  divinely  inspired,  possessing 
the  choicest  culture  that  earth  and  heaven  can 
afford.  Yet  they  are  guilty  of  having  committed  the 
unpardonable  sin  against  the  Good  Spirit.  They 
sinned  against  light  and  knowledge.  They  failed 
miserably  ;  because,  with  all  their  education,  culture, 
and  opportunity,  they  did  not  discover  the  foun- 
dation of  civilization,  the  economic  basis  of  the  equal 
distribution  of  wealth,  and  advocate  its  acceptance  by 
the  people.     For  they  were  all  found  opposing  this 


THE  EDUCATORS  49 

theory  during-  the  transition  period,  and  it  is  so 
recorded  in  Kenloe's  Book  of  the  Blmd.  They  fell 
down  and  worshiped  the  Golden  Calf,  sold  them- 
selves to  capital.  They  utterly  missed  the  greatest 
opportunity;  and  there  is  more  forgiveness  for 
"  boorish  farmers  "  and  stingy,  avaricious  capitalists, 
because  they  did  not  sin  against  such  light,  culture, 
and  opportunity. 

It  is  possible  that  the  length  of  the  dream  and 
the  mysterious  hypnotic  influence  had  something  to 
do  with  this  greatest  of  discoveries.  It  is  certain 
that  the  Dreamer  has  not  only  surpassed  all  the 
other  dreamers,  seers,  and  prophets,  but  also  all  the 
moralists,  inspired  and  uninspired,  all  the  philos- 
ophers, scientists,  economic  writers,  and  teachers 
on  all  subjects  since  the  morning  of  time,  in  his 
discovery  of  the  elixir  of  national  and  individual 
life  —  the  economic  basis  of  the  equal  distribution 
of  wealth,  which,  once  adopted,  he  claims  insures 
everlasting  national  life  and  perfected  ethnological 
conditions. 

Whence,  asks  the  reader,  comes  this  infinitely 
superior  wisdom  and  knowledge  of  these  ethical, 
social,  commercial,  and  economic  conditions  of  the 
race ;  and  is  the  Dreamer's  economical  theory  of  the 
equal  distribution  of  wealth  the  panacea  of  all  human 
woe  and  suffering;  and  is  it  practical  in  a  popular 
government,  resting  upon  the  free  will  of  the  people? 
If  so,  it  is  the  greatest  discovery  of  all  time  and  of 
all  history,  and  should  be  accepted  at  the  earliest 
possible  moment. 

But  a  proposition  and  an  undemonstrated  theory, 
which  negatives  all  primal  forces  of  nature  and  law, 
the  accumulated  experiences  of  history,  which  nulli- 


50  REALITY 

fies  and  overthrows  and  considers  as  only  evil  all  that 
has  been  attained  by  the  constant  and  hitherto  con- 
sidered successful  efforts  of  the  scholars,  scientists, 
philosophers,  moralists,  artists,  and  teachers  who 
have  made  our  present  the  noblest  civilization  in 
history,  should  have  a  more  solid  foundation  to  rest 
upon  than  a  dream  or  fancied  ideal.  It  should  have 
its  roots  in  the  best  soil  of  human  experience  and 
the  very  best  thought  of  the  past  and  present.  The 
consensus  of  the  world's  thought  and  experience  is 
now  overwhelmingly  against  the  proposition  and  the 
theory.  What  is  to  change  this  almost  universal 
consensus  of  opinion,  based  upon  ages  of  the  most 
careful  investigation  of  these  subjects  from  every 
possible  point  of  view? 

In  America  at  least,  public  opinion,  which  usually 
controls,  is  strongly  opposed  to  paternalism,  nation- 
alization, and  the  centralization  of  all  the  powers  of 
the  Government,  the  sources  of  production,  and  of 
the  wealth  of  the  nation.  This  consensus  of  opinion 
is,  that  the  Government  has  too  much  power  al- 
ready, granted  or  assumed.  The  complaint  now  is, 
that  its  vast  political  power,  through  its  immense 
and  ever-increasing  patronage,  corrupts  its  agents 
and  destroys  the  free  action  of  the  will  of  the  peo- 
ple. The  complaint  is  just  and  well  founded,  the 
result  of  over  a  century's  experience.  If  this  be 
true  in  the  infancy  of  our  nation,  what  may  be  ex- 
pected in  its  manhood  or  mature  age  ?  The  feeling 
is  bitter  against  the  corrupt  political  combinations 
of  the  agents  of  the  Government  in  the  cities,  the 
State  Legislatures,  and  Congress,  and  of  their  monop- 
olies for  passing  laws  for  their  own  pecuniary  and 
political  interests  and  for  the  sacrifice  and  destruc- 


HIS  REMEDY  51 


tion  of  the  will  of  the  people.  There  is  most  ample 
ground  for  this  bitter  feeling  of  hostility  to  the  law- 
makers in  the  City  Council,  the  State  Legislature,  and 
Congress,  because  of  their  corrupt  practices  for  their 
personal  pecuniary  interests,  and  for  the  utter  disre- 
gard oftentimes  of  the  popular  will  and  the  political 
interests  of  the  people. 

HIS  REMEDY. 

Yet  the  Dreamer  proposes  to  increase  this  growing 
evil  by  centering  in  the  National  Government  not 
only  vastly  more  political  power,  but  also  to  give  it 
the  ownership  and  control  of  all  the  sources  of  pro- 
duction in  the  farms,  the  mines,  the  mills;  all  the 
seas  and  rivers  and  lakes;  all  channels  of  traffic, 
commerce,  distribution  of  products,  and  travel  of 
the  people.  With  such  a  vast  army  of  Government 
officials  required  to  care  for  and  operate  all  these 
interests,  the  corruption,  financial  frauds,  and  pecu- 
lations would  be  appalling. 

For  the  relatively  few  small  corporations,  monop- 
olies, and  trusts  that  now  exist,  limited  in  their 
influence  and  power  by  State  and  national  laws,  scat- 
tered as  to  location  and  operating  along  different 
lines  of  production  and  of  capital,  he  proposes  to 
substitute  a  vast  combination,  a  national  monopoly 
of  all  the  governmental  powers  of  all  the  States  and 
the  nation,  all  the  combined  sources  of  production,- 
and  the  capital  and  wealth  of  the  whole  country. 
He  proposes  absolute  and  unlimited  political,  com- 
mercial, and  financial  power,  without  any  check 
upon  the  corrupt  conduct  of  this  monster  monopoly 
and  combine,  save  the  possible  loss  of  a  Government 
position. 


52  REALITY 

This  check  the  people  now  have  in  full  and  free 
exercise ;  but  it  has  proved  inadequate  to  produce 
official  honesty  and  integrity,  and  to  protect  the 
people  from  corrupt  legislation  by  their  own  chosen 
officials.  Bad  as  the  condition  now  is,  his  remedy 
is  infinitely  worse,  and  would  enlarge  and  extend 
the  evil  a  thousandfold. 

It  is  claimed  that  the  will  of  the  people  and  fre- 
quent elections  will  protect  them  from  the  dishonest 
and  corrupt  practices  of  the  officials,  and  purify  the 
political  atmosphere;  that  the  electors,  the  press, 
and  the  formative  powers  of  public  opinion  will  be- 
come emancipated  and  independent,  not  influenced 
by,  or  subservient  to,  private  capital  and  wealth. 
History  and  experience  do  not  confirm  this  assertion. 
The  pathway  of  the  race  is  strewn  with  the  wrecks  of 
republics,  where  the  liberties  of  the  people  were 
entrusted  to  their  representatives  to  be  exercised 
through  a  centralized  power  only  to  lose  them,  and 
all  control  of  the  governmental  power  which  their 
indifference  and  want  of  political  sagacity  had  estab- 
lished. 

This  proposed,  ponderous,  all-embracing  machine 
would  soon  control  every  interest  of  the  people 
through  its  almost  numberless  officials,  without  the 
slightest  regard  to  the  wishes  of  the  people ;  while 
the  elections,  if  any  were  ever  held,  after  the  first, 
would  be  Mexicanized,  a  mere  farce,  and  matter  of 
form. 

Many  conscientious  electors  refuse  now  to  vote, 
well  knowing  that  the  local,  district,  county,  or  State 
political  machine  will  find  some  way  to  defeat  their 
candidate  and  render  ineffective  their  ballots.  If 
this  be  true,  when  all  the  political  machines  of  all  the 


THE  GREAT  REVOLUTION  53 

cities  and  all  the  States  controlling  all  the  wealth 
and  every  source  of  power  and  influence  are  all  cen- 
tralized in  one  vast  combine,  called  the  National  Gov- 
ernment, in  full  and  absolute  control  of  our  Re- 
public, with  the  interests  and  powers  of  the  citizens 
absorbed  and  submerged  into  a  heartless  political 
despotism,  the  fate  of  the  Republic  is  at  once  apparent. 
The  future  historian  has  only  to  write,  as  has  been 
done  of  the  Roman  Empire,  "  Died  from  too  much 
pov/er  centralized  in  a  paternal  government." 

But,  in  dreams,  fundamental  principles  and  his- 
toric experiences  have  little  potency.  The  great 
discoverer  and  Dreamer  rises  to  the  emergency.  He 
is  wealthy,  at  least,  in  fertile  resources  to  meet  every 
occasion.  He  proposes  to  change  the  desires  and 
strengthen  the  will  of  the  people  by  the  develop- 
ment of  the  altruistic  principle,  so  that  even  politi- 
cians will  be  affected  and  controlled  by  it.  A  great 
revival  is  to  take  place.  Just  how  it  is  to  originate 
or  whence  its  impelling  power,  is  a  little  dreamy  and 
uncertain.  But,  it  is  only  fair  to  say,  it  is  intimated 
that  the  "  boorish,  unlettered,  and  uncultured  farm- 
ers "  were  the  first  to  recognize  the  discovery,  that 
the  basis  of  all  civilization  is  the  economic  theory 
of  the  equal  distribution  of  wealth.  All  ordinary 
and  time-honored  influences  in  getting  up  this  re- 
vival and  speeding  on  the  Revolution  were  ignored. 
Ministers  and  teachers  of  every  class  had  nothing 
to  do  with  it,  except  vigorously  to  oppose  it.  No 
subscriptions  were  taken  or  hats  passed  for  funds 
to  defray  current  expenses.  The  great  journal- 
istic press,  the  schools,  colleges  and  universities, 
the  almost  innumerable  benevolent  and  missionary 
institutions,  although  organized   on    altruistic  prin- 


1 


.> 


64  REALITY 

ciples  and  for  the  express  purpose  of  reviving  and 
cultivating  brotherly  love,  had  nothing  to  do  with  it, 
save  to  oppose  it  with  all  their  power  and  influence. 
Yet,  coming  from  nothing  and  nowhere,  it  moved 
into  majestic  grandeur  and  irresistible  power;  until 
that  tremendous  wave  of  altruistic  enthusiasm  ex- 
ultantlv  rolled  over  the  whole  world,  submergfinof 
the  entire  race  like  the  great  flood  of  Noah,  sweep- 
ing every  mountain  top,  and  deluging  every  lovely 
plain  with  brotherly  love. 

For  the  first  time,  it  is  claimed,  the  dream  of  Christ 
as  to  His  Kingdom  on  Earth  was  comprehended  and 
explained  by  the  Dreamer.  And  who  could  be  ex- 
pected to  explain  dreams  better  than  a  real  hundred- 
year  dreamer?  The  true  doctrine  of  the  Golden 
Rule,  and  the  functions  which  love  and  acceptable 
service  render  the  Creator  by  the  exercise  of  fraternal 
love  to  His  children,  was  for  the  first  time  correctly 
understood  and  practically  applied.  This  true  in- 
terpretation of  Christ's  dream  and  the  doctrine  of 
brotherly  love,  claimed  as  entirely  new,  fresh,  and 
original,  was  universally  accepted  at  once  with 
great  joy  and  unexampled  enthusiasm  by  the  suffer- 
ing masses  the  world  over.  No  such  religious  fer- 
vor and  acclamations  of  joy  had  ever  been  manifested 
and  heard,  since  the  Jews  received  their  Messiah  with 
shouts  of  "  Hosanna  to  the  Son  of  David"  in  the 
palm-strewn  streets  of  old  Jerusalem.  All  men  of 
every  nation,  tongue,  and  clime  were  saluting  and 
ofreeting  each  other  with  the  most  enthusiastic  ex- 
pressions  of  joy  and  brotherly  love.  Hallelujahs, 
Selahs,  and  Amens  echo  and  reecho  round  the  globe 
with  more  regularity,  triumphant  tone  and  speed, 
than  did  the  roll  of  the  British  drum  in  the  old  times 


EFFECT  OF  THE  REVIVAL  56 

of  former  wickedness,  inexpressible  poverty,  and 
misery. 

The  Czar  of  Russia  hastened  to  break  his  sword ; 
to  declare  that  he  was  no  longer  a  heartless  despot 
but  a  living,  loving  brother,  and  would  never  go  to 
war  again  but  would  embrace  the  whole  East  and 
as  much  of  China  as  he  could  encompass;  while  all 
his  subjects  drank  too  freely  of  vodka,  amid  the 
joyous  acclaim  of  the  silvery  bells  of  all  his  vast  em- 
pire ;  and  the  priests  gave  thanks  in  Greek  to  God 
and  the  Czar,  the  father  of  their  venerable  church. 

John  Bull  hesitated  for  a  brief  time ;  but  fearing 
the  Czar  might  obtain  an  advantage  in  the  exercise 
of  this  newborn  fraternal  love  hastened  to  Egypt, 
to  Africa,  to  China  and  India  to  embrace  every- 
thing in  sight,  followed  the  line  of  the  continuous 
roll  of  his  drum  around  the  world,  embraced  every- 
body and  everything  not  previously  embraced  by  the 
head  of  some  great  Christian  power. 

The  Queen  was  able  to  do  but  little  in  the  active 
manifestations;  but  the  Prince  of  Wales,  as  usual, 
did  a  vast  deal  of  embracing  all  through  the  British 
Isles,  Scotland,  Ireland,  and  Wales,  while  every 
official  and  soldier  and  citizen  of  the  British  Empire 
was  telegraphed  to  do  his  whole  duty  in  famine- 
stricken  India. 

The  Kaiser  and  all  the  crowned  heads  of  Europe, 
soon  convinced  that  it  was  the  right  thing  to  do,  cheer- 
fully gave  away  their  robes  of  royalty  to  some  pass- 
ing tramps,  disbanded  their  armies,  sunk  the  noble 
war-ships  of  the  navy,  and  were  last  seen  taking  a 
schooner  of  beer  preparatory  to  going  to  work  as 
farmers  under  the  new  era  at  $45.00  a  month. 

The  greatest  joy  and   exultation  was  everywhere 


-j6  reality 

manifested  throughout  the  animate  world,  nay,  even 
the  stars  ceased  to  move  in  their  courses.  The  music 
of  the  spheres  was  unheard.  Those  with  good  eyes 
thought  they  saw  the  battlements  of  heaven  covered 
with  bright  angels  and  celestial  spirits,  when  the 
unspeakable  Turk,  the  Sick  Man  of  the  East,  the 
Sultan,  emerged  from  his  harem  and  informed  the 
houris  of  his  joy  that  he  too  was  going  to  embrace 
the  warriors  of  Greece  and  the  treacherous  Armen- 
ians. It  was  a  mighty  effort;  but  the  tremendous 
wave  of  enthusiastic  brotherly  love  had  completely 
cleansed  the  Sultan's  heart  from  centuries  of  Greek 
and  Armenian  blood,  renewed  his  wasting  energies; 
and,  when  he  had  embraced  the  Archbishop  of  the 
Armenian  Church  and  hundreds  of  their  leading 
men,  he  was  last  seen  sobbing  on  the  bosom  of  the 
King  of  Greece,  trying  to  have  him  accept  as  a  token 
of  his  brotherly  love  and  affection  fifty  millions  of 
good  bonds,  guaranteed  by  John  Bull  and  the  Kaiser, 
as  an  indemnity  for  expenses  in  the  last  war.  At 
this  time  the  reporter  left  the  scene  to  revise  his 
notes  for  the  morning's  first  edition  of  the  Chronicle 
of  the  New  Era. 

This  is  the  sublime  climax  of  the  hundred-year 
dream  —  the  result  of  the  great  revival  and  the  tre- 
mendous wave  of  enthusiastic  brotherly  love. 

It  is  thrilling,  inspiring,  and  sublime ;  but  the  sad- 
dest part  of  it  all  is, —  it  is  only  a  dream. 


CHARACTER  AND  CULTURE  THE  BASIS 
OF  CIVILIZATION 

^'■Know  ye  not  that  they  wJiich  ru?i  in  a  race  run  all, 
.  hit  one  receiveth  the  prize  ?  So  run,  that  ye  may  obtain. " 
—  I.  Cor.  ix.,  24. 

The  Dreamer  in  Equality  has  not  found,  nor  does 
his  wonderful  dream  suggest,  an  antidote  for  all 
the  ills  and  sufferings  of  the  human  race.  His 
economic  basis  —  the  equal  distribution  of  wealth  — 
does  not  reach  and  satisfy  the  necessities  of  life.  It 
is  not  a  new  theory ;  it  is  but  an  incident  in  the  race 
development,  and  not  the  primal  cause  of  its  success 
or  failure.  It  carries  with  it  probably  more  evil 
than  it  remedies,  while  its  advantages  are  few  and 
limited,  confined  to  the  energies  of  the  race  along 
only  one  line  of  development,  and  that  far  from  all- 
embracing;  it  is  basilar  and  most  unnobling,  utterly 
impractical,  contrary  to  natural  law  —  a  dream  of 
idealists.  Its  claimed  results  are  magnified  a  thou- 
sandfold by  a  hypnotized  imagination ;  a  pin  point 
developed  into  a  mountain. 

If  there  is  any  comprehensive  basis  of  human  ac- 
tion that  can  account  for  the  civilization  of  the  race, 
it  is  the  character  or  culture  existing  in  and  arising 
from  the  education  of  the  whole  man,  intellectual, 
moral,  and  spiritual.  This,  embracing  the  freedom 
of  will,  the  intellectual  and  moral  forces,  and  their 
normal    development,  makes   the  character  and  th-.- 


58  REALITY 

man  independent  entirely  of  the  question  of  simple 
maintenance.  The  culture  of  these  forces  in  the 
individual,  community,  or  race,  always  has  and  al- 
ways will  dominate  all  other  minor  forces  that  may 
aid  in  individual  and  race  development.  Mainte- 
nance is  a  very  minor  incident  in  the  development  of 
these  forces;  and  occupies  relatively  only  a  very 
small  fraction  of  time  and  effort,  when  compared  with 
what  is  necessary  for  the  development  of  these 
primal  forces  in  the  perfected  man  and  race. 

In  every  great  race  in  history,  a  combination  of 
these  forces  has  ever  been  triumphant  and  must  ever 
be  regnant;  because  always  controlling  all  other 
forces  —  as  a  general  proposition  —  that  tend  to  build 
up  or  destroy  the  world's  civilization  at  any  period 
in  its  history. 

No  one  ever  asks,  what  amount  of  labor  or  its 
product  —  wealth  —  it  took  to  build  the  pyramids. 
Only  what  they  were  built  for  —  what  was  the  inspir- 
ing motive,  what  the  life  thought,  projected  into 
their  marvelous  structure?  Modern  scholastic  re- 
search has  utterly  failed  to  discern  the  purpose  of 
their  erection.  It  was  the  grand  conception  of  mas- 
ter minds  in  science,  architecture,  and  sentient 
knowledge,  controlled  by  almost  omnipotent  power, 
never  since  equalled,  that  produced  those  silent  in- 
terpreters and  unrivaled  monuments  of  a  civilization, 
w^hose  greatness  they  can  only  measure,  and  which 
would  have  utterly  perished  from  the  knowledge  of 
men  without  them.  Money,  capital,  wealth,  or  any 
industrial  system  was  not  the  basis  of  their  structure 
or  the  civilization  they  represent.  There  was  a 
scientific  thought,  a  conception  of  strength  and 
beauty,  a  sentient  knowledge  of  eternity  and  how  to 


THE  ETHNOLOGY  OF  THE  HEBREWS  59- 


obtain  it,  utterly  foreign  to  wealth  and  all  material- 
ism, and  as  far  removed  from  and  above  these,  as 
are  their  originators  and  makers  from  the  present 
race  of  architects  and  builders. 

The  Greek  civilization,  undoubtedly  the  noblest  in 
artistic,  intellectual,  and  perhaps  spiritual  attain- 
ment, was  achieved  from  and  through  the  develop- 
ment of  these  forces.  Its  scholarship,  its  philosophic 
and  poetic  triumphs  were  inspired  by  conscious  love 
of  strength  and  beauty  existing  within  the  Greek 
heart,  and  not  by  any  industrial  system  based  upon 
the  idea  of  financial  equality.  In  fact,  they  despised 
wealth  and  its  pursuits;  and  sought  only  the  develop- 
ment of  sentient  life  in  physical,  aesthetic,  intel- 
lectual, and  spiritual  development. 

Again,  that  most  wonderful  race,  the  Hebrews, — 
whose  early  history  is  filled  with  poets  of  the  lofti- 
est inspiration  and  sweetest  song,  seers  of  keenest 
vision,  prophets  who  could  ken  the  future  with 
unerring  certainty,  and  philosophers  who  claimed 
intimacy  with  the  fountain  head  of  all  philosophy, — 
reached  a  civilization  which  embodied  the  noblest 
ethnological  conceptions  and  perhaps  the  best  pa- 
triotic national  spirit  ever  manifested  and  formulated 
into  national  life  and  politics.  And  yet  their  civili- 
zation was  not  based  upon  any  economical  system ; 
nor  was  wealth,  or  its  production,  a  primary  consid- 
eration among  them.  Their  personal  and  national 
relations  to  their  conceived  Maker  and  to  each  other, 
in  their  intellectual,  religious,  and  social  life,  were  of 
transcendent  importance,  as  compared  with  their 
industrial  or  commercial  life.  Contact  with  the 
world  in  the  succeeding  ages  has  given  them  the 
reputation  of  being  too  much  interested  in  the  ques- 


«0  REALITY 

tions  of  producing  and  accumulating  wealth,  without 
sufficient  regard  to  the  methods  employed.  Yet  the 
fact  remains  that,  under  the  greatest  temptations  at 
times  to  depart  from  the  lofty  ideals  of  their  early 
historical  teachers  and  leaders,  they  have  kept 
themselves  a  distinct  race;  and  have  through  the 
centuries  refused  steadfastly  to  intermarry  with  the 
Gentiles  or  barbarians,  go  after  other  gods,  or 
lower  their  high  ideals  to  be  reached  in  individual 
and  national  life. 

The  Roman  Empire  is  perhaps  the  most  con- 
spicuous monument  of  power  in  the  world's  history, 
where  the  greatness  was  due  almost  entirely  to  the 
development  of  the  nobler  and  more  exalted  powers 
of  man.  Its  preeminence  was  reached  through  the 
full-orbed  culture  of  its  great  men.  In  the  better 
days  of  that  mighty  people,  their  sociology  left  lit- 
tle to  be  desired  beyond  what  was  incorporated  into 
their  national,  and  was  experienced  in  the  daily,  life 
of  the  citizens.  Her  system  of  jurisprudence,  prob- 
ably copied  largely  from  the  Greeks,  has  ever  been 
the  admiration  of  the  statesman  and  the  study  of  the 
scholar.  Every  possible  fruit  of  the  intellect  be- 
longed to  her  scholars.  Her  theologians  and  religious 
teachers  were  perhaps  as  thoroughly  versed  in  all 
psychological  knowledge  and  experience  as  any  be- 
fore or  since.  The  sensuous,  chaste,  and  powerful 
monuments  of  her  art  and  sculpture  have  ever 
awakened  and  quickened  into  new  life  every  one  so 
fortunate  as  to  behold  them.  Her  literary  attain- 
ments, prose,  poetry,  scientific  research,  and  philo- 
sophical inquiry,  have  seldom  if  ever  been  equalled 
or  surpassed ;  while  the  lofty  consensus  of  her  citi- 
:zens  wrought  out  and  made  effective  a  political  or 


THE  ROMAN  CULTURE  Gl 

governmental  polity,  which  subdued  and  dominated 
the  then  known  world.  All  this,  and  vastly  more, 
was  achieved  through  the  development  of  the  better 
life  forces  of  the  people,  evolved  on  constantly 
more  exalted  planes  of  experience,  and  without  any 
economic  basis  of  equality  of  wealth.  In  fact,  in 
the  better  days  of  the  Republic  the  power  of  private 
capital,  or  accumulated  wealth,  was  only  known  and 
felt  as  an  auxiliary  force  to  be  used  always  as  a 
willing  servant,  and  never  as  a  dictatorial  master.  It 
was  used  only  for  sustaining  her  vast  armies  and  fleets 
that  covered  every  land  and  sea;  for  the  extension 
of  her  commerce  and  trade ;  for  the  conducting  of  her 
vast  governmental  enterprises,  and  the  establish- 
ing of  her  libraries ;  for  the  creation  of  her  splendid 
monuments  of  art  and  science  which  ever  spoke  to, 
aroused,  and  inspired  her  citizens  to  a  better  life  and 
a  more  perfected  humanity. 

All  this  was  wrought  by  the  will  and  the  free 
choice  of  her  noble  citizenship.  High  ideals  along 
the  lines  of  human  activity  were  incorporated  into 
and  made  realities  in  the  thought,  life,  and  enjoy- 
ment of  the  people.  It  was  the  condemnation  of  this 
lofty,  sentient  life  of  the  people  that  made  Rome 
forever  the  synonym  of  centralized  power.  Wealth 
did  not  conceive,  originate,  or  perfect  this  mighty 
empire,  nor  in  its  days  of  glorious  achievement  did 
it  have  any  potent  voice  in  deciding  its  destinies. 
The  lives  of  her  subjects  found  happy  and  joyous 
expression  in  her  vast  enterprises  of  commerce  and 
trade,  in  the  justice  of  her  laws,  in  the  invincible 
valor  of  her  soldiers  and  sailors,  in  the  thousands  of 
battles  where  the  numbers  of  the  opposing  forces 
were  seldom  ever  considered,  in  the  high  character 


<62  REALITY 

of  her  citizens,  in  the  brilliant  achievements  of  her 
statesmen,  her  scholars,  artists,  and  poets.  All  this 
touched  the  sentient  life  of  the  people,  and  their 
will  voiced  the  destinies  of  the  Empire. 

But  in  the  passing  centuries  the  principle  of  central- 
ized power  was  carried  too  far.  Every  force  tended 
to  increase  its  power,  while  the  voice  of  the  throb- 
bing life  of  the  citizens  grew  weaker  and  less  potent 
in  national  affairs.  Rome  became  paternalized  and 
centralized;  it  was  this,  chiefly,  that  destroyed  the 
Roman  Empire.  Individuality  was  submerged  in 
centralized,  national  power. 

Wealth  and  consequent  luxury  did  their  part ;  but 
it  was  only  a  secondary  part,  an  indirect  auxiliary 
force  which  possibly  accelerated  her  decay  and  de- 
struction as  a  first  class  power  in  the  world. 

It  was,  therefore,  the  culture  of  her  citizens  that 
originated,  erected,  and  maintained  the  Roman  Em- 
pire and  all  it  stands  for  and  represents  in  its  history 
and  achievements. 

The  life  of  man  consists  in  what  he  makes  of  it 
through  his  seeing,  feeling,  thinking,  acting,  and 
enjoying  what  there  is  in  it  for  his  sensuous  experi- 
ence. The  world  is  full  of  beauty  for  the  eye,  of 
the  grandest  music  for  the  ear,  of  most  soul-thrilling 
manifestations  of  thought  to  arouse,  interest,  and 
satisfy  his  intellectual  aspirations,  and  of  every 
shade  of  moral,  ethnological,  and  spiritual  manifesta- 
tions for  those  who  will  patiently  and  reverently 
seek  them  from  their  great  Author. 

But  the  economic  basis  of  industrial  systems,  the 
production  and  accumulation  of  wealth,  has  very 
little  to  do  with  all  of  these  most  thrilling  soul- 
experiences,  that  enter  into,  enlighten,  and  transform 


WHAT  IS  LIFE  63 


every  life,  and  that  dominate  human  activities. 
Wealth,  money,  and  financial  systems  have  no  soul, 
no  conscience,  no  eye  to  see,  ear  to  hear,  reason 
and  judgment  to  appreciate.  They  have  no  sense  of 
beauty  or  of  power.  No  voice  of  suffering  can 
touch  them,  or  thrill  of  joy  and  beauty  arouse  them. 
They  are  dead,  heartless,  and  cold  as  stone ;  and  have 
just  about  as  much  to  do  with  the  basis  of  civiliza- 
tion as  stones,  or  any  other  materialistic  substance 
that  is  devoid  of  animate  life.  They  never  knew 
the  joy  of  authorship,  the  Godlike  uplift  that 
Newton  experienced  when  he  first  realized  the  dis- 
covery of  the  law  of  gravitation ;  that  filled  every 
chamber  of  the  soul  of  dear  old  Shakespeare  with 
constant  delight  when  he  had  finished  the  greatest 
work  of  uninspired  man ;  or  that  satisfied  Richard 
Wagner  when  he  laid  down  his  pen,  filled  with 
harmonies  and  dripping  with  melodies,  when  he 
had  finished  his  marvelous,  heaven-ordained,  and 
angel-inspired  works,  and  triumphed  over  his  ene- 
mies forever. 

Wealth  can  be  produced  and  gathered  up  by  men, 
but  it  has  no  power  to  make  men.  It  is  ever  inani- 
mate, and  always  the  creature  of  law.  And  what  is 
law  but  the  will  of  men?  The  will  of  man,  then, 
always  controls  wealth.  It  can  produce  it,  give  it 
a  value,  or  utterly  destroy  it.  The  created  is  never 
greater  than  the  creator.  If  this  be  so, —  and  there  is 
no  possible  escape  from  it, —  culture,  which  is  the  con- 
dition, the  character,  the  what  a  man  or  community 
or  state  or  nation  is  at  any  given  time,  is  and  ever 
must  be  the  basis  of  all  civilization  among  the 
races  of  men.  What  then  becomes  of  the  theory 
that  the  economic  basis,  equality  of  wealth,  is  the 


64  REALITY 

cause  of  the  perfected  condition  of  the  human  race 
one  hundred  years  hence,  in  the  year  two  thousand? 

The  cause  is  entirely  inadequate  to  produce  such 
an  effect.  The  law  of  cause  and  effect  is  and  must 
be  in  full  force,  since  the  days  of  miracles  have 
passed  awa}'.  This  law  is  a  part  of  the  universe,  an 
eternal  rule  of  action,  and  recognized  as  such  by  all 
evolutionists.  It  is  as  fixed  and  permanent  a  force 
in  the  development  of  all  human  activities,  as  the 
law  of  gravitation  is  in  the  administration  of  the 
forces  of  nature. 

The  economic  basis  is  entirely  inadequate  to  pro- 
duce such  stupendous  claimed  results;  and  more  so, 
because  the  development  of  the  physical,  intellect- 
ual, and  spiritual  forces  of  man  does  not  depend,  in 
any  important  sense,  upon  wealth  or  any  industrial 
theory.  In  fact  the  distinguished  geniuses  of  the 
world  have  been  too  poor  to  cast  a  respectable 
shadow. 

There  is,  perhaps,  but  one  faculty  of  our  being 
which  feeds  upon  it ;  and  that  is  the  faculty  or  pas- 
sion of  avarice,  not  at  all  a  necessary  function  or 
adjunct  to  a  full-orbed  development,  but  recognized 
as  a  deformity  of  character  and  a  hindrance  to  the 
highest  and  most  desirable  culture.  Growth  must 
ever  be  along  lines  fixed  by  the  Creator.  Physical 
culture  must  be  along  the  lines  of  muscular  exercise. 
No  man  ever  became  an  athlete  by  lying  upon  his 
back  in  the  shade,  and  examining  the  photographs  of 
the  various  paraphernalia  of  a  well-equipped  gymna- 
sium, and  reading  of  the  proper  positions  and  exer- 
cises necessary  to  produce  the  proper  physical  de- 
velopment desired.  No  musician  was  ever  prepared 
to  be  master  of  his  chosen  instrument  and  bring  out 


SOME  THINGS  WEALTH  CANNOT  DO  65 


its  sacred  treasures  of  melody  and  harmony,  by  read- 
ing the  program  of  what  is  or  can  be  produced  when 
the  artist  has  possession  of  his  instrument.  To 
become  the  cultured  artist,  requires  long  and  weary 
years  of  laborious  effort  and  deep  study  in  overcom- 
ing the  mysterious  relations  of  the  musical  tones  to 
each  other,  the  harmony  to  the  melody ;  and  in  study- 
ing the  thought  of  the  author  so  as  to  properly  com- 
prehend the  theme  and  to  be  able  sympathetically 
to  bring  out  the  passion,  the  reverence,  the  sorrow, 
and  the  joy  expressed  in  the  theme.  Then  it  takes 
years  of  hard  practice  to  master  the  instrument,  and 
make  it  ever  and  always  obedient,  and  instantly  re- 
sponsive to  the  will.  The  muscles  of  the  arms, 
limbs,  and  fingers  must  have  their  proper  exercise 
and  special  training.  The  ear  must  be  cultivated  to 
detect  the  least  waver  from  the  pitch,  and  the  eye 
practiced  to  read  the  phrases  or  page  at  a  glance, 
while  even  the  touch  must  not  be  neglected. 

It  is  evident  that  mere  wealth  can  do  nothing 
whatever  along  any  of  these  lines  of  culture.  It 
could  only,  at  best,  furnish  food  and  covering  for 
the  body,  which  is  an  insignificant  affair,  compared 
with  the  intellectual  and  soul  pabulum  needed  for 
the  development.  This  is  true  of  every  exercise  of 
the  body,  mind,  and  soul,  and  all  the  great  and  varied 
faculties  of  each.  They  must  grow  and  develop 
upon  what  they  feed,  in  full  accord  with  the  inevita- 
ble law  of  nature  and  creation.  Great  thinkers, 
philosophers,  poets,  artists,  and  full-orbed  men  and 
women,  do  not  feed  upon  bank  bills,  silver  and  gold, 
nor  yet  on  government  bonds ;  nor  can  any  industrial 
system  aid  or  assist  in  any  marked  degree  such  a 
development  and  culture. 


66  REALITY 

If  maintenance,  or  property  necessary  for  it,  is  the 
basis  of  and  is  essential  to  civilization,  it  certainly 
cannot  be  criminal  or  immoral  to  seek  for  and  possess 
it  for  those  who  aspire  to  become  civilized  and  reach 
the  Pisgah  peaks  of  a  perfected  humanity.  Otherwise 
it  were  criminal  and  immoral  to  grow  and  develop, — 
to  become  cultured;  and  mere  physical  existence 
would  be  the  only  normal  and  moral  life  for  the  race. 

A  certain  amount  of  property  or  wealth  is  abso- 
lutely necessary  to  support  mere  physical  existence. 
How  much,  depends  upon  the  environment  —  the 
climate,  the  social  relations,  the  density  of  the  popu- 
lation, and  the  spontaneous  products  of  the  earth,  air, 
and  the  waters.  One  school  demands  that  the  Gov- 
ernment procure  this  property  required  for  mainte- 
nance, be  it  more  or  less ;  while  another  contends  that 
nobler  results  are  achieved,  when  each  individual  is 
left  to  develop  his  own  faculties  and  powers  in  pro- 
curing his  own  maintenance.  The  Government  does 
not  need  this  discipline  —  the  individual  does. 

It  is,  perhaps,  not  so  much  a  question  of  principle, 
as  the  wisest  choice  and  use  of  methods  for  the 
highest  good  of  all.  The  standard  of  excellence  — 
the  methods  and  means  to  obtain  it  in  a  community 
or  nation,  at  least  in  a  free  government  —  must  ever 
be  measured  by  the  culture  of  the  individuals  com- 
posing it.  This  standard,  with  its  inethods  and 
means,  will  always  be  found  much  higher  and  better 
where  maintenance  is  earned  by  each,  than  where  it 
is  provided,  given,  or  bestowed  by  a  paternal  govern- 
ment. The  effect  is  the  same  as  the  effort  to  relieve 
Trampism  by  benevolent  gifts,  which  often  increase 
the  evil,  the  dependence,  and  poverty  by  weakening 
the  powers  and  efforts  for  self-support. 


THE  PRESENT  SYSTEM  67 

If  then  that  cause  be  so  utterly  inadequate  for  the 
claimed  effects,  and  the  premises  wrong,  the  con- 
clusion must  certainly  be  fatal  to  the  Dreamer's 
theory  that  the  perfected  civilization  of  the  twentieth 
century  is  largely  due  to  his  economic  theory  of 
equality  in  wealth. 

We  believe  most  enthusiastically  in  the  theory  of 
a  constantly  perfecting  humanity,  beautifully  and 
plausibly  as  it  has  been  made  to  appear  a  hundred 
years  hence.  We  believe  the  condition  of  the  hu- 
man race  will  then  far  transcend  the  charming  pic- 
ture given  us  in  Equality;  but  it  will  take  place 
along  lines  already  drawn,  and  in  full  accord  with 
nature's  laws,  largely  as  they  are  now  being  inter- 
preted. There  will  be  changes  of  methods,  means, 
and  application,  in  the  use  of  nature's  powers,  and 
possibly  the  discovery  of  new  and  unheard-of  laws 
of  nature. 

It  is  worthy  of  notice,  that  even  the  Dreamer  does 
not  introduce,  to  accomplish  the  mighty  trans- 
formation, any  new  forces  of  nature  or  scientific 
improvement.  An  increasing  knowledge  and  a 
proper  application  of  nature's  laws  will  accomplish 
it  all  even  under  the  present  industrial  system  in 
far  less  time  than  the  Dreamer  has  fixed,  if  the  rate 
of  progress  and  human  advancement  made  in  the  last 
forty  years  is  continued  and  improved  upon,  as  may 
be  reasonably  expected. 

The  present  industrial  system  of  wages,  coopera- 
tion, and  profit-sharing  is  a  vast  improvement  on  that 
of  chattel  slavery.  And  it  may  be  reasonably  ex- 
pected that  the  advancement  of  the  race  along  other 
lines  will  soon  check  and  forever  wipe  out  any  in- 
justice that  is  now  apparent.     Fair,  just,  and  honora- 


68  REALITY 

ble  wages  will  be  paid  for  labor  given.  The  rapacity, 
oppression,  avarice,  and  cruelty  of  capital  will  be 
checked  and  overcome  by  the  demands  of  the  peo- 
ple under  existing  and  improved  legislation,  the 
use  of  improved  methods  and  means,  made  to  meet 
every  new  condition  or  emergency  that  may  arise. 
Just  what  new  methods  and  means  will  be  used,  the 
condition  of  the  people  will  always  determine ;  the 
culture  of  the  people  will  usually  invent  the  wisest 
and  best  methods  and  means  for  growth  and  develop- 
ment along  all  lines  of  progress  demanded  for  each 
period  of  time. 

His  picture  is  far  too  highly  colored.  It  is  full  of 
half  truths  and  misleading  suggestions.  The 
Dreamer  is  a  prince  of  special  pleaders.  His  colors 
are  the  most  vivid  possible,  or  the  darkest  that  can 
be  found.  He  deals  entirely  with  extremes.  The 
contrast  is  forced  to  the  farthest  extent,  no  matter 
what  laws  of  nature  or  art  are  violated,  and  even 
truth  itself  is  not  fairly  considered.  He  evidently 
does  not  believe  with  Carlyle  when  he  says,  "  Lying 
is  not  permitted  in  this  universe." 

Schopenhauer  in  his  palmiest  days  of  anger,  sor- 
row, and  hatred  of  all  light,  happiness,  and  joy,  was 
never  more  pessimistic  than  the  Dreamer  in  Equal- 
ity. He  presents  the  picture  of  woman,  of  the 
priesthood  and  clergy,  of  the  presidents  and  profes- 
sors in  our  colleges,  universities,  and  teachers  in  our 
public  schools,  all  of  them,  with  every  sense  of 
honor  and  manhood  gone, —  the  abject  slaves  of 
capital;  while  nine-tenths  of  the  race  are  actually 
starving  and  in  the  lowest  stages  of  the  most  abject 
moral  depravity. 

No,  the  picture  is  not  true.     Our  people  are  the 


DR.  L  YMAN  BEECHER'S  REPL  Y  69 

freest,  most  contented,  and  prosperous  people  on  the 
face  of  the  earth.  They  live  contentedly  in  the 
sunshine ;  most  of  them  have  peaceful,  happy  homes 
and  fully  believe  "God's  in  his  heaven,  all's  well  with 
the  world. ' '  Most  of  them  believe  in  the  reply  of 
old  Dr.  Lyman  Beecher,  who  when  asked  how  he 
was  getting  along  in  his  old  age  said,  "  Oh,  I  am 
doing  a  thousand  times  better  than  I  used  to,  be- 
cause I  have  made  up  my  mind  to  let  God  manage 
his  own  universe," 

Some  men  of  great  ability  —  would-be  reformers  — 
are  so  busy  with  their  little  muck  rakes,  raking 
over  the  mud  and  dt'bris  of  the  past,  that  they  fail  to 
see  or  will  not  admit  the  wonderful  race  progress  of 
the  past  and  the  glorious  achievements  of  the  pres- 
ent. Such  men  cannot  or  will  not  see  the  sunlight 
of  to-day,  and  enjoy  its  precious  light  which  would 
surround  them  with  an  environment  of  joy  and 
beauty.  Like  Dr.  Beecher,  in  his  younger  days, 
they  are  trying  to  manage  God's  beautiful,  grand 
world  in  their  own  way,  and  it  is  needless  to  say  it 
cannot  be  done  with  their  puny  muck  rakes;  hence 
their  efforts  are  usually  miserable  failures.  To  say, 
in  the  full  view  of  the  magnificent  achievements  of 
the  race  in  this  closing  of  the  nineteenth  century, 
that  the  American  Government  and  the  rest  of  the 
world  is  a  miserable  failure,  is  to  deny  God's  univer- 
sal and  beneficent  reign  among  men.  And  to  say  it, 
is  to  affirm  that  He  has  created  a  world  and  a  race 
that  He  could  not  control,  and  from  which  He  has 
therefore  withdrawn  His  interest  and  rule.  No 
wonder  the  grossest  pessimism  is  the  result. 

But  Paul  in  his  first  letter  to  the  Corinthians  has  a 
better  conception  of  the  reign  of  God  and  the  life  of 


70  REALITY 

man,  when  he  says:  "  Know  ye  not  that  they  which 
run  in  a  race  run  all,  but  one  receiveth  the  prize? 
So  run,  that  ye  may  obtain."  Life,  to  Paul,  seems 
to  have  been  an  experience,  in  which  all  should 
strive  for  the  prize  —  although  but  one  could  obtain 
the  honor  of  leading  all  the  runners, —  "  So  run  that 
ye  may  obtain."  This  implies  that  there  is  a  prize 
for  all  runners,  for  all  who  make  the  effort ;  and  this 
prize  lies  in  the  judgment,  the  effort,  the  training 
of  every  faculty  and  power  in  the  contestants,  in 
the  exercise  and  culture  that  always  come  from  ear- 
nest efforts  for  culture  and  development  of  every 
faculty  and  power  called  into  exercise.  The  crown 
for  the  leader  in  the  race,  whether  of  myrtle,  thorn, 
or  laurel,  would  soon  fade,  wither,  and  perish.  But 
the  accumulated  power  obtained  by  the  effort  to 
lead  in  the  race,  to  live  a  better,  fuller  and  more 
noble,  joyous  life,  was  the  possession  of  every  run- 
ner, obtained  by  every  racer,  and  became  a  perma- 
nent possession,  the  increased  power  to  enjoy  an 
enlarged  life. 

LIFE  AMONG  THE  SANDWICH  ISLANDERS. 

If  the  object  of  life  is  contentment,  happiness,  and 
the  enjoyment  that  comes  from  the  gratification  of 
the  physical  man,  there  have  been  millions  who  have 
reached  it  without  any  aid  from  wealth  or  industrial 
systems.  In  that  charmingly  written  and  beauti- 
fully illustrated  book,  The  Islands  of  the  Pacific,  by 
Rev.  James  M.  Alexander,  is  described  the  native 
inhabitants,  their  life  and  its  conditions,  before  they 
were  influenced  or  affected  by  foreigners,  as  well  as 
their  theories  and  civilization.  They  were  mostly 
of  the   Polynesian   stock,  and  were  remarkable   for 


THE  SAND  WICH  ISLANDERS 


health,  symmetry,  and  the  development  of  their 
physique.  Those  of  Samoa  and  the  Tonga  Islands 
seemed  to  have  reached  the  finest  physical  develop- 
ment known  to  the  race.  They  surpassed  even  the 
Spartans  of  Greece  in  her  days  of  glorious  achieve- 
ment. The  men  on  these  Islands  averaged  five  feet 
nine  and  ninety-eight  one-hundredths  inches  in 
height,  and  were  proportionally  developed,  while 
their  women  were  relatively  strong  in  all  physical  cul- 
ture. They  were  almost  entirely  free  from  the  lead- 
ing fatal  diseases,  had  pure,  rich  blood,  were  healthy 
and  happy.  They  had  none  of  the  gymnastics,  Del- 
sarte,  or  military  culture  of  modern  times,  or  the 
hardy  Grecian  practices  for  muscular  development. 
They  were  the  children  of  the  sunlight,  the  air,  and 
the  water.  They  obeyed  the  simple  laws  of  nature 
in  a  natural  way,  and  were  content  and  happy.  And 
yet  they  had  no  commerce  or  trade,  no  debts  or  mort- 
gages to  pay,  no  competition,  profit-sharing,  cooper- 
ation, or  any  economic  or  industrial  system  whatever. 
They  made  from  the  grasses  and  the  barks  of  the 
trees  what  clothing  they  desired,  lived  on  the  palm, 
breadfruit,  and  tropical  products  that  grew  spontane- 
ously in  their  favored  clime,  and  upon  the  products 
of  the  sea.  Herman  Melville,  in  his  Typce,  giving 
a  description  of  his  experiences  for  some  five  or 
six  months  on  one  of  the  Marquesas  Islands,  says  he 
never  saw  such  a  happy  and  contented  people.  There 
was  scarcely  a  sick  person  on  the  island,  and  rarely 
a  death,  which  was  usually  from  old  age  or  some 
accident.  There  were  among  them  no  doctors,  law- 
yers, or  systems  of  theology,  science,  or  evolution  to 
disturb  the  serenity  of  their  lives. 

An  occasional  landing  of  a  foreign  ship,  or  visit 


72  REALITY 

from  some  friendly  or  hostile  neighboring  tribe,  was 
all  that  disturbed  the  peaceful  tenor  of  their  exist- 
ence. This  writer  doubts  very  much  whether  the 
efforts  to  civilize  them  by  the  missionaries,  and  for- 
eign thought  and  life,  was  not  a  positive  wrong  in- 
stead of  a  blessing.  They  had  no  money  or  any  sys- 
tem for  using  it,  and  knew  nothing  of  its  value  or 
claimed  benefits.  The  Sandwich  Islanders  were  sup- 
posed by  Captain  Cook,  when  he  first  landed  among 
them,  to  number  at  least  300,000.  Now,  after  a 
century's  civilization,  they  number  about  30,000. 

These  children  of  nature  could  not  stand  the  ele- 
vating and  destroying  forces  we  call  civilization  any 
more  than  the  North  American  Indians.  Their  des- 
tiny, like  that  of  the  natives  of  this  continent,  will 
doubtless  in  another  century  be  the  same  —  absolute 
extinction.  ^Nlight  will  be  accepted  as  right,  and  the 
powerful  will  extinguish  the  weak,  and  the  survival 
of  the  fittest  will  again  prevail. 

These  South  Sea  Islanders,  and  especially  the 
Samoans  and  the  Tongans,  were,  according  to  Mr. 
Alexander's  statement,  the  finest  physically  devel- 
oped of  the  human  race;  and  if  the  object  of  life 
is  contentment,  happiness,  and  serenity,  they  had 
reached  the  goal,  and  that  too  without  any  knowledge 
of  how  to  produce  wealth  or  enjoy  it  when  accumu- 
lated. 

The  economic  basis  and  an  equal  distribution  of 
wealth  had  therefore  nothing  whatever  to  do  with 
their  happy  and  contented  lives,  and  it  is  certainly  a 
serious  question  whether  a  civilization  that  wholly 
extinguishes  the  race  in  a  century  or  two  is  desir- 
able for  it. 

The  race  in  which  every  one  runs  strengthens  not 


THE  DIVINE  ESSENCE  IN  ANIMATE  LIFE         73 

only  the  individual  powers,  but  the  collective  forces 
of  social  and  national  life.  The  race,  too,  is  run 
along  every  line  of  human  thought  and  activity. 
This  constant  effort  is  a  struggle  for  the  promotion 
of  partial  truth  to  pure  truth.  As  Goethe  says: 
"  Truth  reveals  itself  in  degrees,  and  we  can  pro- 
gress from  an  incomplete  to  a  more  and  ever  more 
complete  comprehension  of  truth.  Truth  is  not  a 
thing,  not  an  object  which  we  either  have  in  its 
entirety,  or  have  not  at  all.  Truth  is  a  matter  of 
spiritual  growth,  and  the  development  of  truth  on 
earth  is  not  more  than  the  progress  of  the  human 
race." 

Lessing  said,  "  If  God  in  His  right  hand  held  all 
truth,  and  in  His  left  hand  solely  every  living  aspi- 
ration after  it,  yet  with  the  condition  of  eternal  error, 
and  if  He  gave  me  the  choice,  I  would,  with  human- 
ity, choose  the  left  hand,  and  say,  '  Father,  give  me 
this;  the  pure  truth,  after  all,  is  for  Thee  alone.'  " 

Pure  truth,  then,  is  God's  law  of  divine  life  and 
of  all  race  progress.  The  development  of  truthful 
relations  and  conditions  is  ever  towards  the  Godlike. 
God  is  a  unit  and  all  forces  in  His  universe  are  ruled 
and  developed  in  accordance  with  this  universal 
law.  All  progress,  therefore,  is  only  putting  into 
exercise  the  divine  that  exists  in  every  human  heart. 
Our  love  and  admiration  for  the  birds  and  the  beasts 
is  because  we  see  the  divine  in  their  creation.  Our 
joy  in  nature's  forces,  the  mountains,  the  ocean,  the 
great  rivers,  the  rolling  clouds,  the  sun,  and  the  stars, 
arises  from  the  fact  that  they  manifest  God,  superior 
to  any  possible  conception  or  production  of  man. 

We  are  in  touch,  through  what  we  may  call  a  fel- 
low-feeling or  sympathy,  with  a  kindred  manifesta- 


74  REALITY 

tion  called  love,  or  the  divine  essence,  found  in  a 
greater  or  less  degree,  as  we  are  able  to  discern  it, 
throughout  all  animated  life.  Many  animals  mani- 
fest as  strong  affection  for  their  young  as  any  moth- 
er of  our  race,  and  will  exhibit  as  much  courage  and 
fierceness  in  their  defense.  Call  it  what  you  will,  it 
answers  to  our  idea  of  love.  It  is  an  affection,  a 
sympathy,  an  interest  in  and  an  admiration  for  a 
similar  sentiment  or  experience  in  our  own  life. 

This  wonderful  power  of  attraction  is  found  to  run 
through  not  only  all  mere  animate  life,  but  also  all 
through  human  life  and  experience.  Pliny  thought 
plants  sympathize  with  each  other,  and  his  view  is 
doubtless  fully  supported  by  modern  science. 

Henry  F.  Rubison,  in  the  Mcchanisvi  of  Sym- 
pathy, says:  "It  is  an  agreement  of  affections  or 
inclinations  or  a  sameness  of  natures,  which  makes 
persons  pleased  with  one  another  or  with  the  same 
subject  of  thought.  .  .  .  We  never  expect,  as 
we  enter  the  inorganic  world,  the  world  of  coal  and 
iron,  to  see  manifestations  of  sympathy;  yet  the 
chemist  finds  here  what  appears  to  be  warm  sym- 
pathy and  enduring  affection.  Many  of  the  most 
pleasing  experiments  in  chemistry  and  physics  de- 
pend upon  the  apparent  fact  of  sympathy." 

Dr.  Marion  Good  says:  "  It  exists  between  atom 
and  atom,  and  the  philosopher  calls  it  attraction. 
It  exists  between  iron  and  loadstone,  and  every  one 
calls  it  magnetism."  So  that  chemistry  and  physics 
present  a  sportive,  poetical  way  of  telling  the  story 
of  the  human  heart,  its  life,  its  intelligence,  its  emo- 
tions. 

The  most  acceptable  conception  of  the  Creator  is 
that  He  is  omnipotent,  infinite,  benevolent,  and  benefi- 


SCHOPENHA  UER'S  DECLARA  TION  75 


cent;  that   He  is  love,  manifested  at  all  times  and 
throughout  all  of  His  creation.     No  finite  intelligence 
or  spiritual  conception  can  even  faintly  fathom  its 
heights  or  depths,   or    trace   its    workings   through 
this  world,   much   less  the   universe.     The   late   la- 
mented   Prof.    Henry   M.    Drummond    had  a  noble 
conception  of  this  idea,  when  he  declared  that  love 
was  the  most  potent  force  in  the  world.     If  God  is 
love  —  and  this  is  revelation  and  experience  —  it  is 
both  scientific  and  philosophic  that  He  should  be  the 
greatest  power  operating  through  and  upon  His  cre- 
ations.    Undoubtedly  this  has  been  the  experience  of 
many  noble  souls,  and  those  of  most  perfect  culture  in 
the  development  of  their  lives  along  the  paths  of  time. 
To  many  living  along  the  lower  planes  of  develop- 
ment there  may  be   some   truth   in   Schopenhauer's 
declaration  that  ' '  Life  is  an  oscillation  between  want 
and  ennuiy     But  such  a  philosophy  is  hardly   worth 
investigation,  much  less  a  constant  practice  in  life, 
if  for  no  other  reason  than  that  it  furnishes  no  noble 
incentives  for  action  or  enjoyment  in  life.      Life  was 
given  for  a  more  exalted  purpose,  or  it  is  not  worth 
living.     The  ethics  of  life  are  based  upon  physical, 
moral,  and  intellectual  endeavor.     And  while,  owing 
to  the  limitations  of  our  present  individual  and  race 
environments,  none  can  hope  to  reach  ultimate  truth, 
the  divine  form,  yet  the  ideal  is  not  a  beyond.     As 
has  been  well  said  by  another:    "It  is  an  imminent 
presence  which  can  find  its  incarnation  in  man,  and 
the  ideal  ceases  to  appear  as  an  implacable  condem- 
nation of  our  shortcomings,  as  soon  as  it  dominates 
our  entire  being.     He  whose  will  is  determined  by 
this   ideal  can   say  of   God,    '  I   and  my  Father  are 
one.'     God  is  no  longer  above,  but  with  him." 


76  REALITY 

Culture  is  therefore  but  a  constant  effort  to  find 
sympathy,  affection,  and  love  itself ;  or  God  operating 
in  all  of  the  universe  which  He  has  created  and  con- 
trols. This  has  ever  been  the  trend  of  all  the  lead- 
ers in  the  upward  march  of  the  civilization  of  the 
race,  along  every  line  of  human  progress.  The 
world  is  not  left  coldly  desolate.  We  are  no  father- 
less children  left  starving  and  alone  upon  the  deserts 
of  time.  The  warm  divine  love  of  the  all-loving  Fa- 
ther penetrates  strongly  through  every  life's  experi- 
ence, evidencing  a  unity  of  plan  and  purpose  in  the 
creation  and  in  the  control  of  the  entire  universe ; 
and  it  is  the  unit  of  the  creation,  preservation,  and 
control.  This  ethics  of  culture  has  been  realized  to 
a  greater  or  less  extent  by  the  master  minds  that 
have  civilized  the  race  in  thought  and  achievement. 
Menes,  Moses,  and  Confucius  in  laws,  jurisprudence, 
and  governments;  Aristotle,  Plato,  and  Aurelius  in 
philosophy;  Socrates,  Mahomet,  and  Christ  in  theol- 
ogy; Rubens,  Angelo,  and  Raphael  in  art;  Dante, 
Milton,  and  Shakespeare  in  poetry;  and  Wagner, 
Bach,  and  Beethoven  in  music,  were  among  the  great 
pioneers  of  our  civilization.  All  modern  theology 
and  religious  thought  came  from  Christ  and  Calvary, 
and  are  stories  of  self-denial,  sacrifice,  and  love  for 
all  the  race  —  Altruism  in  its  fullest  extent,  though 
doubtless  all  but  the  atonement  theory  had  been 
taught  by  other  prior  systems  of  theology.  Yet  Cal- 
vary, with  all  it  signifies,  stands  as  the  basis  of  the 
consensus  of  religious  thought  in  all  civilized  nations ; 
and  the  same  may  be  said  as  a  general  proposition 
regarding  the  great  leaders,  through  whose  thought 
has  come  down  to  us  practically  all  we  possess  of 
civilization    along   all    other    great   lines    of  human 


THE  LEADERS  IN  CIVILIZATION  11 

progress.  They  stand  upon  the  mountain  peaks  of 
the  earlier  beginnings  of  all  modern  achievements; 
and,  like  vast  heliographs,  have  ever  flashed  their 
celestial  inspirations  from  generation  to  generation, 
until  now  the  whole  world  from  the  mountain  top  to 
the  most  extended  plain  is  flooded  with  the  glory  of 
the  highest  culture  yet  known,  responding  to  love,  the 
dominant  force  in  the  universe.  This  glory  of  a  per- 
fected civilization  has  been  rendered  possible  only 
through  the  culture  of  the  individual  along  the 
dominant  lines  of  human  action,  the  will,  the  judg- 
ment, the  reason,  the  moral  and  intellectual  forces  of 
the  race ;  and  this  culture  is  the  basis  of  all  civiliza- 
tion, and  has  very  little  to  do  with  industrial  systems 
or  wealth  and  its  accumulations. 

It  is  admitted  in  Equality  that  the  cause  of  the 
industrial  Revolution  was  the  growth  of  intelligence 
and  the  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  the  masses. 
If  this  culture  was  the  cause  of  the  Revolution 
which  inaugurated  the  economic  basis  of  an  equal 
distribution  of  wealth,  then  it  was  the  cause  of  the 
perfected  humanity  claimed  to  exist  in  the  year  two 
thousand  by  virtue  of  the  acceptance  and  practice  of 
that  system.  The  culture  that  preceded  this  indus- 
trial system  was  the  admitted  cause  of  it ;  therefore 
our  claim  is  admitted  and  established  that  culture  is 
and  ever  must  be  the  basis  of  all  human  progress 
and  civilization. 

"  For  liberty  man  is  created;  he's  free 

Though  fetters  around  him  be  clinking. 
Let  the  cry  of  the  mob  never  terrify  thee, 

Nor  scorn  of  the  dullard  unthinking. 
Beware  of  the  slave  when  he  breaks  from  his  chain, 
But  fear  not  the  free,  who  their  freedom  maintain." 
—  The  Open  Court,  April,  1897. 


78  REALITY 

"  And  a  God  too  there  is,  a  purpose  sublime, 
Though  frail  may  be  human  endeavor ; 
High  over  the  regions  of  space  and  of  time 

One  idea  supreme  rules  forever: 
While  all  things  are  shifting  and  tempest-pressed, 
Yet  the  spirit  pervading  the  change  is  at  rest." 

—  Schiller.. 


THE  PRESENT  INDUSTRIAL  SYSTEM 

The  wage  system,  cooperation,  and  profit-sharing 
are  the  chief  methods  for  producing  maintenance, 
capital,  and  wealth  by  means  of  labor.  Innumerable 
efforts  have  been  made  in  all  civilized  countries  to 
find  some  industrial  system  or  other  relation  of  capi- 
tal to  labor  that  would  ameliorate  or  become  a  sub- 
stitute for  the  wage  system.  All  other  systems 
have,  however,  to  a  greater  or  less  degree,  failed; 
and  from  the  extended  experiences  of  the  past  it 
seems  destined  to  remain  as  long  as  capital  has  prof- 
itable employment  for  the  working  man,  and  as  long 
as  the  laborer  has  nothing  but  his  labor  to  sell. 

The  poor  always  have  existed,  and  always  will 
exist,  from  the  very  nature  of  the  case.  The  differ- 
ence of  heredity,  physical  and  mental  endowments, 
and  culture  seems  to  render  this  a  necessity.  If  all 
wealth  were  equally  distributed  among  the  population 
to-day,  to-morrow  it  would  be  found  practically  in 
the  same  hands  it  had  been  before  the  distribution. 
There  would  be  changes,  of  course.  Some  foolish  rich 
men  of  to-day,  who  could  not  tell  how  their  wealth 
came,  and  who  would  not  have  the  ability  to  use  or 
hold  it,  would  find  themselves  poor  men,  having  lost 
even  their  pro  rata  in  the  distribution ;  and  some 
shrewd  poor  men  would  be  found  to  have  added  to 
their  pro  rata  of  the  equal  distribution.  But  prac- 
tically society  would  find  itself  on  the  morrow,  finan- 
cially, where  it  had  been  yesterday,  before  the  equal 


80  REALITY 

distribution  of  wealth  took  place.  A  few  relatively 
would  gamble  into  their  possession  in  one  day  and 
night  immense  fortunes,  and  many  would  obtain  a  full 
competency.  Most  conservative  people,  as  now, 
would  retain  their  pro  rata,  and  add  a  little  to  it; 
while  a  relatively  few  of  the  careless  and  improvi- 
dent, would  wake  up  from  a  restless  and  unrefresh- 
ing  sleep  without  a  dollar,  their  pro  rata  all  gone. 
They  would  be  obliged  to  beg  or  sell  their  labor  for 
a  breakfast  to  commence  the  new  day  and  the  new 
era  of  equal  distribution  of  wealth.  Lamentable  as 
it  may  appear,  and  much  as  all  would  desire  to 
change  it,  it  must  remain  as  long  as  the  conditions 
of  life  and  the  capacities  of  men  remain  as  they  now 
are.  Science,  culture,  law,  and  love  may  ameliorate 
somewhat  these  relations ;  but  no  very  radical  change 
can  be  effected  and  wrought  into  permanent  rules  of 
life  and  action,  while  the  varied  capacities,  aspira- 
tions, and  desires  of  the  race  continue  as  they  are  at 
present,  and  have  been  in  all  the  past. 

Our  sympathies  are  greatly  wrought  upon  by  the 
politicians,  the  agitators,  and  the  reformers  over 
individual  and  local  suffering,  until  we  are  led  to 
believe  that  the  mole  hill  is  a  mountain.  We  so 
easily  forget  that  there  is  eternal  serenity  and  sun- 
shine above  all  the  dark  and  gloomy  clouds  floating 
above  and  around  us.  The  great  majority  of  the 
race  are  living  in  comparative  peace  and  enjoyment 
of  life  and  its  opportunities,  with  their  reasonable 
wants  fairly  supplied. 

Great  as  is  the  combined  poverty  and  suffering  in 
the  world,  relatively  there  is  far  less  than  one  would 
suppose  after  reading  a  morning  metropolitan  news- 
paper.    They  have  not  a  word  to  say  about  the  hun- 


OUR  NEWS-GATHERERS  81 

dreds  of  thousands  of  contented  people  who  have 
peacefully,  healthily,  and  happily  slept  during  the 
,  night ;  but  with  electrical  energy  they  have  searched 
the  world  over,  and  display  in  the  most  conspicuous 
headlines  every  burglary,  murder,  and  suicide  that 
can  anywhere  be  found,  minutely  describing  how  the 
theft  was  effected,  how  the  murderer  overcame  his 
victim,  and  by  what  method  the  suicide  departed. 

In  fact  they  could  do  little  more  if  their  special 
mission  was  to  instruct  the  thief  how  best  he  could 
steal,  the  murderer  what  weapons  are  the  safest  and 
most  certain  to  finish  his  victim  and  leave  no  traces 
of  the  crime,  and  the  suicide  what  drugs  or  other 
means  will  most  effectually,  in  the  briefest  time,  and 
with  the  least  pain  land  him  on  the  other  side.  The 
action  of  the  police  and  the  governmental  officials  is 
left  for  further  elaboration  and  display  in  the  even- 
ing edition.  In  fact,  good,  honorable,  happy,  and 
joyous  life  is  so  common  as  not  to  be  noticeable, 
while  crime  and  extreme  poverty  are  so  rare,  and 
relatively  so  infrequent,  that  it  becomes  the  most 
startling  theme  of  news.  A  first-class  murder,  a 
suicide,  a  polygamist  with  eight  wives  found,  and 
more  shadowed,  seem  of  more  importance  to  most  of 
the  newspapers  than  the  passage  of  the  National  Tariff 
Act,  or  an  arbitration  treaty  with  some  foreign  nation. 
Would  it  not  be  better,  nobler,  and  wiser  for  these 
wonderful  news-gatherers  and  educators  of  public 
opinion  to  give  us  more  of  the  great,  the  good,  the 
happy  and  contented,  and  less  of  the  horrid  facts 
and  details  of  the  thief,  the  murderer,  and  the  sui- 
cide, by  which  the  young  and  uninitiated  are  fully 
and  minutely  instructed  in  all  the  details  of  the  most 
horrid,  destructive,  and  successful  crimes? 


82  REALITY 

Christ  was  wiser  than  Bellamy.  He  spoke  of  a 
fact,  while  Bellamy  dreams.  He  said,  "  Ye  have 
the  poor  always  with  you,"  and  this  statement  has 
heen  most  emphatically  true.  It  touches  a  far-rea- 
soning principle,  and  the  question  always  is  what  to 
do  with  this  poverty.  It  is  a  necessity  arising  from 
the  method  of  creation,  and  the  varied  endowments 
and  different  capacities  of  the  individuals  that  make 
up  the  race.  It  is  a  potent  reality  and  must  be  met 
with  something  more  practical  than  dreaming  the- 
ories. 

Since  the  destruction  of  chattel  slavery,  facts  and 
long  experience  seem  to  sustain  the  wage  system  as 
the  most  acceptable,  and  it  has  been  by  far  the  most 
general  in  use. 

The  chief  merit  of  this  system  is,  that  its  returns 
to  the  laborer  are  fixed  in  amount,  and  usually  cer- 
tain at  periods  agreed  upon,  while  the  laborer  is  in 
no  way  responsible  for  the  capital  involved  or  the 
management  of  the  business.  Where  there  is  the 
confidence  and  respect  that  should  exist  between  the 
employer  and  employee,  as  there  was  in  this  coun- 
try before  the  agitator,  reformer,  and  the  politician 
appeared  to  ferment  discord,  little  friction  existed, 
and  the  relations  were  mutually  pleasant  and  profit- 
able. The  only  serious  problem  in  this  question  is, 
at  times,  the  unpardonable  avarice  of  the  employer 
and  the  folly  of  the  laborer  —  the  employer  offering 
the  lowest  possible  wages,  and  the  laborer  demand- 
ing the  highest  possible  price  for  his  services. 

Between  these  extremes  lies  the  battle  ground  of 
the  centuries  between  capital  and  labor  under  the 
wage  system ;  this  is  the  despair  of  the  philosopher 
and   the  student  of    economics,  and  oftentimes  the 


UNIVERSAL  SYMPATHY  FOR  LABORERS  83 

•death  of  philanthropy.  In  a  relatively  few  cases, 
where  the  laborer  must  work  or  perish,  the  employer 
seems  to  have  the  advantage ;  for  if  the  price  of  labor 
be  not  satisfactory,  he  at  times  can  live  upon  pre- 
vious accumulations  without  it. 

But  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  great  heart  of 
the  people  beats  strong  and  warm  for  the  laborer, 
that  he  always  has  the  sympathy  of  the  people,  and 
this  is  well-nigh  omnipotent  in  this  country.  The 
generosity  and  beneficence  of  the  people  seldom 
permit  starvation  and  extensive  poverty  in  civilized 
communities.  This  boundless  charity  can  be  safely 
relied  upon.  It  is  not  so  much  with  individual  ex- 
treme cases  we  have  to  deal  as  with  great  principles 
that  will  prevent  and  relieve  suffering  as  a  rule.  The 
daily  laborers  and  their  families,  even  during  strikes, 
are  always  cheerfully  supported  by  the  beneficence 
of  the  people  in  every  emergency.  The  laws  are 
largely  made  for  the  laborer  and  generally  in  sym- 
pathy with  him,  and  capital  is  thus  soon  compelled 
to  pay  fair  wages  or  retire  from  the  market  and 
from  business  that  requires  labor  for  its  support. 
The  extreme  cases  of  severe  and  protracted  conflict 
between  labor  and  capital,  under  the  wage  system, 
though  frequently  appearing  and  greatly  exaggerated 
by  a  certain  class  of  writers  and  agitators,  are  but 
ripples  on  the  great  ocean  of  commercial  transactions 
between  labor  and  capital.  The  great  army  of  labor- 
ers under  the  wage  system  have  no  very  serious  diffi- 
culty in  obtaining  good  fair  wages  and  usually  all 
the  business  will  warrant,  when  left  to  settle  their 
controversy  under  the  great  and  universal  law  of 
demand  and  supply,  which  must  ultimately  settle  all 
such  questions.     Arbitration  and  the  courts  and  an 


84  REALITY 

ever-advancing  public  opinion  and  the  sanctified 
common  sense  which  has  always  characterized  the 
American  people  will  usually  meet  fairly,  justly,  and 
honorably  all  of  these  questions.  The  solution  of 
the  labor  question  and  the  conflict  between  capital 
and  labor  must  always  finally  be  solved  through  the 
ballot  box,  in  this  country  at  least.  The  laborer 
will,  by  culture,  understand  his  rights  and  through 
combination  legally  enforce  them ;  not  by  strikes, 
boycotts,  and  violence,  but  through  legal  enactments 
and  the  courts.  In  this  he  has  every  advantage 
numerically,  and  the  active  sympathy  of  all  good 
citizens  who  are  always  ready  to  see  that  any  just 
claim  he  may  have  shall  be  faithfully  and  vigorously 
enforced  through  the  laws  and  courts  of  the  land. 
The  laborers,  as  a  class,  are  noble,  upright,  patriotic, 
and  honorable  citizens.  They  only  demand  what  they 
think  they  are  honestly  entitled  to.  The  difficult 
problem  is  to  decide  just  what  they  are  entitled  to, 
and  just  how  much  capital  shall  receive.  This  ques- 
tion, demand  and  supply,  arbitration  and  the  courts, 
are  ever  open  and  ready  to  settle.  Labor  ought  to 
be  satisfied  with  this  forum,  as  it  has  the  votes  to 
elect  the  legislatures  and  make  its  own  laws  —  the 
votes  to  elect  the  officials  to  execute  the  laws  and 
compel  their  enforcement.  This  being  so,  why 
resort  to  violence,  strikes,  lockouts,  and  boycotts,  and 
thus  lose  the  sympathy  of  public  opinion,  which  is 
unquestionably  with  labor  and  against  capital,  yet  is 
more  strongly,  if  possible,  opposed  to  all  violence, 
Socialism,  and  Anarchy? 

In  the  system  of  cooperation  the  laborer  has  to 
furnish  his  own  pro  rata  of  labor,  of  the  skill  in 
management,  and  the  capital ;  and  then  he  receives 


THE  COOPERATIVE  SYSTEM  85 

his  share  of  the  profits.  Capital,  skill,  and  labor  are 
the  three  factors  indispensable  in  the  cooperative 
effort.  The  capital  may  be  borrowed  for  a  promis- 
ing venture,  and  the  labor  always  found ;  but  the 
executive  skill  is  the  most  difficult  to  find  and  the 
relative  value  of  it  always  an  uncertain  element. 
Most  of  the  cooperative  ventures  have  found  it  nec- 
essary to  borrow  capital,  but  their  weakness  usually 
lies  in  refusing  to  employ  and  adequately  pay  the 
skilled  executive  ability  to  make  the  business  a 
profitable  one. 

In  France  only  five  per  cent  of  the  business  ven- 
tures succeed.  Out  of  lOO  business  men  lo  make 
money,  50  vegetate,  and  40  fail  entirely.  Most  fail- 
ures undoubtedly  occur  for  want  of  skill  and  execu- 
tive ability  in  the  management.  Cooperation  is 
popular  in  certain  lines,  such  as  large  combinations 
in  dairy  districts  for  the  butter  and  cheese  product, 
and  where  there  is  little  friction  between  the  em- 
ployer and  employee.  In  Germany  and  this  country, 
where  large  sugar  beet  interests  are  involved,  large 
landed  interests  and  their  owners  and  the  necessary 
labor  in  raising  the  beets  share  with  the  large  facto- 
ries, necessary  to  convert  them  into  sugar,  in  the 
profits  of  the  enterprise. 

In  the  profit-sharing  system  the  capital  is  usually 
furnished  by  the  management,  contracted  wages  paid 
for  the  labor,  interest  on  the  capital  and  expenses 
and  a  per  cent  given  labor  out  of  the  profits.  If  there 
are  no  profits  the  laborer  has  still  received  his  wages, 
and  has  no  responsibility  as  to  furnishing  the  capital, 
skill,  and  executive  ability  in  the  management.  The 
cooperative  and  profit-sharing  systems  appeal  to  the 
laborer  for  his  active  sympathy  and  good  will  and 


86  REALITY 

his  best  efforts  to  make  the  business  a  success,  to 
enhance  his  share  of  the  profits.  But  in  cooperation 
he  assumes  the  risk  of  a  diminution  or  loss  of 
capital  and  of  regular  payment  of  wages,  while  in 
the  profit-sharing  system  he  risks  only  the  possible 
loss  of  his  share  of  the  profits. 

The  cooperative  enterprise  generally  proceeds- 
from  laborers  and  small  capitalists,  or  more  fre- 
quently those  seeking  salaried  positions  as  experts  in 
managing  such  enterprises.  The  profit-sharing  sys- 
tem proceeds  generally  from  capitalists  who  have 
had  trouble  with  their  labor  and  desire  to  conciliate 
the  laborers,  or  from  charitable  and  humane  motives 
and  a  desire  to  share  the  profits  with  the  labor  that 
aided  in  its  production. 

On  the  whole,  the  advantage  to  the  laborer  is  with 
the  wage  system,  inasmuch  as  the  laborers  cannot 
usually  furnish  much  capital  or  the  skilled  labor  and 
executive  ability  necessary  to  conduct  the  cooper- 
ative enterprises  successfully.  And  as  the  profit- 
sharing  system  is  entirely  dependent  upon  the  action 
of  the  capitalist,  no  other  system  has  been  found, 
since  the  curse  was  pronounced  upon  the  race  and 
the  doors  of  Eden  closed,  by  which  as  a  whole  the 
laborer  has  been  able  to  sell  his  labor  with  so  little 
anxiety  and  risk  and  to  receive  as  much  and  as  prompt 
pay  as  by  the  wage  system.  There  can  be  no  possible 
suggestion  or  better  advice  given  to  the  laborer  of 
to-day  than  Channing  gave.  It  lies  at  the  very  foun- 
dation, and  on  it  labor  can  safely  build  an  everlast- 
ing structure  against  which  capital  cannot  prevail. 

CHANNING  ON  LABOR. 

Some  fifty  years  since,  in  a  lecture  in  Boston  on. 
The   Elevation    of  the    Working   Classes,    Channing,   a 


CHANNING  ON  LABOR  87 

noted  divine  of  that  day,  said:  "  There  is  but  one 
elevation  for  a  laborer  and  for  all  other  men.  There 
are  not  different  kinds  of  dignity  for  different  orders 
of  men,  but  one  and  the  same  for  all.  This  eleva- 
tion of  the  human  being  consists  in  the  exercise, 
growth,  and  energy  of  the  higher  principles  and 
powers  of  his  soul.  A  bird  may  be  shot  upwards  to 
the  skies  by  a  foreign  power,  but  it  rises,  in  the  true 
sense  of  the  word,  only  when  it  spreads  its  own  wings 
and  soars  by  its  own  living  powers.  So  a  man  may 
be  thrust  upward  into  a  conspicuous  place  by  out- 
ward accidents,  but  he  rises  only  so  far  as  he  exerts 
himself  and  expands  his  faculties,  and  ascends  by  a 
free  effort  to  a  noble  region  of  thought  and  action. 
Such  is  the  elevation  I  desire  for  the  laborer,  and  I 
desire  no  other.  This  elevation  is,  indeed,  to  be 
aided  by  an  improvement  in  his  outward  condition, 
and  in  turn  it  greatly  improves  his  outward  lot ;  and 
thus  connected,  outward  good  is  real  and  great ;  but 
supposing  it  to  exist  in  separation  from  inward  growth 
and  life,  it  would  be  nothing  worth,  nor  would  I 
raise  a  finger  to  promote  it." 

The  almost  universal  unrest  that  characterizes  this 
age  is  due  not  so  much  to  unjust  conditions  of  the 
industrial  systems  prevalent  and  inequitable  relations 
of  capital  and  labor,  as  these  are  the  result  of  long 
experience,  world-wide  study  and  investigation,  and 
are  the  best  it  has  been  possible  to  obtain.  It  is  due 
rather  to  the  electric  atmosphere  which  pervades 
all  our  individual  and  race  life.  We  talk  with 
electric  flashes,  do  business  and  travel  by  steam, 
compressed  air,  and  electricity.  The  key  of  life's 
music  is  pitched  too  high  for  the  slow  processes  of 
labor  and  the  ordinary  duties  of  life.     The  difficulty 


88  REALITY 

is  greatly  enhanced  by  continuous  efforts  to  change 
to  an  electric  basis  great  fundamental  principles 
that  move  on  a  different  plane  and  by  their  own  in- 
herent power.  Competition,  demand  and  supply,  and 
the  relations  of  labor  and  capital  cannot  be  regulated 
by  electric  currents. 

There  is  a  certain  class  of  writers,  publishers,  and 
agitators  whose  business  and  profits  depend  upon  the 
constant  agitation  of  these  questions,  and  whose 
interest  in  them  is  of  a  pecuniary  nature  rather 
than  sympathy  and  benevolence  to  the  laborer. 

These  questions  will  find  their  best  solution  through 
the  culture  of  all  interested  in  them,  a  wise  use  of 
the  ballot,  the  enactment  of  just  and  equitable  laws, 
and  the  vigorous  enforcement  of  them. 

"  There  is  no  knowledge  that  is  not  power." — Emerson. 

HOW   LABORERS    INVEST   THEIR    SURPLUS  EARNINGS. 

"■He  is  7iot  rich  that  hath  much,  but  he  that  hath  enough  ;  nor 
he  indige7it  that  hath  little,  but  he  that  craveth  more;  for  we  are 
7iot  rich  or  poor,  Jiappy  or  unhappy,  honorable  or  mean,  so  much 
according  to  the  proportion  of  that  which  we  possess,  as  that  of 
which  we  desire." — William  Penn. 

It  is  an  important  fact  that  large  amounts  of  cor- 
porate wealth  of  this  country  are  held  and  owned  by 
workingfmen,  the  wag-e-earners  and  bread-winners  of 
our  land.  Real  paupers  never  have  the  means  to 
invest  in  corporate  wealth.  The  vast  accumulations 
of  the  Building  and  Loan  Associations  are  the  sav- 
ings of  the  laborers.  The  Savings  Banks,  with  their 
ever-increasing  funds,  are  almost  entirely  the  accu- 
mulated wealth  of  the  working  classes. 

In  New  England,  63  per  cent  of  the  depositors  are 
laborers.     The  banks  of  deposit.  State  and  National, 


LABORERS  INVEST  IN  STOCKS  89 


are  largely  represented  in  their  stocks  and  dividends 
by  the  savings  of  the  small  capitalists  and  laborers. 
These  have  learned  that  accumulated  wealth  is  not 
always  an  evil,  and  that  these  corporations  are  usual- 
ly managed  by  the  best  financial  skill  and  integrity. 
If  for  no  other  reason,  pure  selfishness  would  compel 
a  wise  conduct  of  their  affairs  in  full  accord  with  the 
best  established  principles  of  finance,  that  the  larg- 
est dividends  be  distributed  among  their  stockhold- 
ers, and  that  the  confidence  of  the  business  public  be 
secured  and  retained. 

G.  W.  Steevens,  who  has  seen  something  of  Amer- 
ica, its  resources  and  life,  through  the  keen  vision 
of  a  foreigner,  and  who  has  very  cleverly  given  his 
impressions  in  his  entertaining  and  instructive  book, 
The  Land  of  the  Dollar,  says :  "  No  doubt  the  Ameri- 
can has  his  veneration  for  the  dollar,  but  it  is  not 
so  much  the  dollar  he  worships  as  the  ability  to 
obtain  it."  This  is  a  fair  criticism.  Success  in 
financial  matters  is  fully  appreciated ;  and  the  usually 
wise,  conservative,  and  successful  management  of 
these  institutions  has  inspired  the  confidence  of  the 
thinking  laborers  of  America  to  invest  their  surplus 
earnings  in  the  stocks  of  these,  and  many  similar 
institutions. 

Not  only  is  this  true  of  banks  and  Building  and 
Loan  Associations,  but  with  a  class  of  corporations, 
the  management  of  which  has  not  escaped  severe,  and 
oftentimes  merited,  criticism.  The  immense  railroad 
companies  have  sold  large  amounts  of  their  stocks 
and  bonds  to  the  toiling  masses,  who  have  readily 
invested  their  small  capital  in  these  powerful  organ- 
izations, believing  that  they  have  a  right  legally 
and  morally  to   exist,   and   that   generally  they   are 


k'A 


90  REALITY 

fairly  and  honorably  managed,  and  as  a  whole  are 
an  inestimable  blessing  to  this  country. 

According  to  a  recent  report,  there  were  over  fifty 
thousand  holders  of  the  one  hundred  and  seventy 
millions  of  the  stock  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad 
Company,  showing  that  a  large  amount  of  its  stock 
is  in  the  hands  of  small  capitalists,  laborers,  teachers, 
clerks,  professional  men,  and  those  of  limited  means. 
This  great  railroad  is  not  an  exception,  but  this  is,  to 
the  greater  or  less  extent,  true  of  many  of  the  leading 
railroad  companies  of  our  country. 

In  fact,  though  not  always  to  the  same  extent,  the 
capital  stock  of  many  of  the  large  corporations, 
whose  business  is  general  and  touches  often  the  inter- 
ests of  the  people,  is  wisely  divided  in  small  amounts 
among  the  masses,  that  the  dividends  may  be  dis- 
tributed and  enlist  the  sympathy  and  active  support 
of  as  many  of  the  people  as  possible. 

The  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  permits 
its  employees,  who  may  desire,  to  purchase  their 
stock  with  the  surplus  of  their  accumulated  wages ; 
to  set  aside  such  a  per  cent  of  their  wages  as 
they  may  wish  to  invest,  receiving  the  same  rate  of 
interest  thereon  as  that  which  the  stock  bears,  until 
they  have  a  sufficient  amount,  when  the  stock  of  the 
company  is  issued  to  them ;  and  thus  the  wage- 
earner,  the  laborer,  and  the  employee  becomes  a 
full-fledged  stockholder,  capitalist,  and  on  the  di- 
rect route  to  become  a  millionaire  and  railroad 
king. 

This  could  not  occur  unless  the  corporation,  whose 
stock  is  eagerly  sought  after  by  discriminating  capi- 
talists, was  disposed  to  give  its  employees  the 
best  possible    opportunity  to  enjoy    all    profits  and 


LABORERS'  OTHER  INVESTMENTS  91 

advantages  of  the  corporation,  which  their  labor  aids 
to  make  desirable  dividends. 

This  same  principle  prevails  in  many  of  the  mills, 
factories,  and  mines  all  over  the  land. 

Intelligent  labor  can  and  does  constantly  find  an 
abundance  of  such  opportunities  for  safe  and  profit- 
able investment,  where  its  hard-earned  wages  will 
have  the  very  best  of  special  skill  and  financial  ability 
to  make  it  the  most  safe  and  productive. 

The  investor  of  his  surplus  wages  thus  becomes  a 
partner  in  the  business,  and  often  a  prominent  offi- 
cial in  the  management.  But  one  step  further  and 
he  is  wealthy,  becomes  a  plutocrat,  and  according 
to  the  Dreamer  hostile  to  his  fellow  workmen  and  an 
enemy  to  the  human  race. 

Oftentimes  the  agitators'  and  reformers'  wonder- 
ful interest  in  the  laborer  is  not  as  great  as  their 
avaricious  desire  for  a  few  shares  of  the  stock  of  the 
corporation  they  so  constantly  and  fiercely  denounce. 
A  few  shares  of  stock  have  been  known  to  chill  most 
effectually  their  deep  sympathy  and  brotherly  inter- 
est in  the  toiling  masses,  and  to  silence  forever  their 
complaints  against  corporate  power  and  its  evil 
effects  upon  labor. 

"  They  serve  God  well  who  serve  His  creatures." — Mrs.  Norton. 


Is?; 


SOME  REAL  STATISTICS  FOR  DREAMERS 
AND  PESSIMISTS 

THE  SAVINGS  BANKS. 

In  a  most  remarkable  series  of  articles  on  Progress 
of  the  United  States  in  the  North  American  Review , 
May,  June,  July,  August,  and  September,  1897, 
Mr.  M.  G.  Mulhall,  F.S.S.,  gives  the  following 
statements  and  tables  for  the  year  1 894 : 

Discounts.  Dollars 

States.                       Mtllzons  Dollars.  Population,  per  Head, 

New  England 554                     5,000,000  iii 

Middle 1050                   15,000,000  70 

South 220                   20,000,000  II 

West 1026                   29,000,000  35 

2850  69,000,000  41 

He  says:  "  New  England  stands  for  one-fifth  of 
the  banking  power  of  the  Union,  although  her  popu- 
lation is  only  one-fourteenth;  that  is  to  say,  each 
New  Englander  represents  in  banking  matters  as 
much  as  three  ordinary  American  citizens.  The 
savings  banks  returns  afford  eloquent  proof  of  the 
industrious  and  thrifty  habits  of  the  people.  New 
England  counting  2,082,000  depositors,  equal  to 
42  per  cent  of  the  population  as  compared  with 
22  per  cent  in  Great  Britain.  The  amount  of  de- 
posits compares  with  the  same  in  European  countries 
thus : 


^4  REALITY 

Dollars 
Millions  Dollars.  per  Inhabitant. 

New  England 755  151 

Great  Britain 648  18 

Prussia S50  27 

France 754  19 

"At  least  two-thirds  of  the  depositors  evidently  be- 
long to  the  working  classes,  since  the  number  of  the 
former  is  equal  to  63  per  cent  of  the  adult  popula- 
tion, male  and  female ;  hence  we  may  conclude  that 
the  toiling  millions  are  much  better  off  in  New  Eng- 
land than  in  Europe."      .... 

In  1890,  the  National  Banks  transacted  70  per 
cent,  other  banks  30  per  cent  of  the  total  discounts. 
On  this  basis  the  discounts  of  the  several  States  in 
1894  would  be  as  follows  (as  we  have  only  returns 
for  the  National  Banks  in  that  year),  and  the  sub- 
joined table  also  shows  the  amount  of  savings  banks 
deposits  in  1 894 : 

Millions  Dollars.  Dollars  per  Inhabitant. 

Discounts.       Deposits,  Discounts.  Deposits, 

Savings  Banks.  Savings  Banks. 

Maine 30                    53  46  81 

New  Hampshire  16                     71  41  186 

Vermont.   .   .   .    iS                     28  54  84 

Rhode  Island  .51                      69  146  J98 

Connecticut  .   .    65                   134  87  176 

Massachusetts  .  374                   400  166  178 

New  England  .  554  755  iii  151 

He  says  of  manufactures:  "  This  is  by  far  the  most 
important  of  all  New  England  industries,  and  shows 
a  rapid  increase  in  each  decennial  period,  the  value 
of  output  having  quintupled  since  1850,  viz. : 

Millions  Dollars. 
Product.  Wages. 

1850 283  77 

J890 1499  415 


NEW  ENGLAND  95 

"  The  magnitude  of  this  industry  is  such  that,  rela- 
tive to  population,  no  European  country  rivals  New 
England  in  her  manufactures,  as  the  following  table 
shows : 

nr-ii-         T^  r,  DoZ/ars 
MtUwns  Dollars.       Poptdation.         per  Inhabitant. 

New  England  .    .    .  1499  4.700,000  319 

Great  Britain  .    .   ,  4022  35,100,000  115 

France 2860  38,500,000  74 

Germany 3310  52,200,000  63 

Belgium 566  6,400,000  88 

"  The  ratio  that  corresponds  to  New  England  is 
three  times  that  of  Great  Britain,  four  times  that  of 
France,  five  times  that  of  Germany.  The  relative 
progress,  moreover,  has  been  much  greater  in  New 
England  than  in  Great  Britain,  viz. : 

Millions  Dollars.  Dollars  per  Capita. 

1850  1890  1850  1890 

New  England  ...    283  1499  "^  "^ 

Great  Britain  .    .   .  2285  4022  m  uj 

"  British  manufactures  have  done  little  more  than 
keep  pace  with  population,  while  those  of  New  Eng- 
land show  a  ratio  per  inhabitant  three  times  as  great 
as  in  1850.  Massachusetts  stands  for  60  per  cent  of 
the  total  and  Connecticut  comes  second,  but  with 
reference  to  population  Rhode  Island  shows  a  higher 
ratio  of  manufactures  per  inhabitant  than  either  of 
the  preceding  States."      .... 

When  we  observe  that  New  England  turns  out 
more  boots  and  shoes  than  Great  Britain,  France,  or 
Germany,  it  is  easy  to  understand  the  marvelous 
development  of  manufactures  in  this  part  of  the  New 
World.  Nor  is  it  less  satisfactory  to  see  that  the 
wages  of  operatives  have  risen  in  higher  ratio  than  the 
output.     The  number  of  hands  employed  was  3 1 3,000 


96  REALITY 

in  1850  and  885,000  in  1890.     The  ratios  of  product 
and  of  wages  were  therefore  as  follows : 

Dollars  per  Operative.        ^Increase  per  cent. 
1850  1890 

Product 903  1694  87 

Wages 246  469  91 

Wages  averaged  in  1890,  per  week,  exactly  $9.00, 
the  average  throughout  the  United  States  having  been 
$9.30.  These  rates  are  much  higher  than  those  in 
Europe ;  and  as  the  cost  of  food  is  less,  the  New 
England  operative  is  in  a  much  better  position  than 
factory  hands  in  Great  Britain,  France,  or  Germany. 

THE  MIDDLE  STATES. 

In  the  Middle  States  the  population  in  1897  was 
16,020,000,  an  increase  of  150  per  cent,  almost 
double  the  rate  of  progress  in  New  England,  but  far 
less  than  the  average  for  the  Union,  which  has  been 
212  per  cent  in  that  time. 

The  progress  in  manufactures  has  been  much 
more  rapid  than  in  New  England,  the  output  having 
multiplied  eightfold,  and  the  sum  paid  for  wages 
ninefold  since  1850,  viz.: 

Mtlliotts  Dollars. 
Output.  Wages. 

1850 470  loi 

1890 3648  937 

The  manufactures  in  these  Middle  States  exceed 
in  value  those  of  France  or  Germany,  and  fall  only  5 
per  cent  below  those  of  Great  Britain.  Dividing 
the  value  among  the  population,  they  give  an  aver- 
age of  $253.00  per  inhabitant,  as  compared  with 
$110.00  in  Great  Britain  and  $75.00  in  France. 
There  is,  in  fact,  no  country  in  the  world  where  the 


THE  MIDDLE  STATES  97 

output  of  manufactures  shows  so  high  a  ratio  to  popu- 
lation as  in  the  Middle  States,  except  New  Eng- 
land. Comparing  the  census  returns  of  1890  with 
those  of  1850,  we  see  that  the  rise  in  wages  has  sur- 
passed that  in  value  produced.  The  number  of  oper- 
atives in  1850  was  418,000  and  in  1890  it  was  1,810,- 
000,  the  ratio  corresponding  to  each  being  therefore 
as  follows: 

Dollars  per  Operative.        Increase  per  cent. 
1850  1890 

Product 1120  2017  80 

Wages 240  517  115 

This  shows  that  the  workman  now  receives  a 
larger  share  of  the  profit  resulting  from  manufac- 
tures than  he  did  fifty  years  ago.  Wages  in  1890 
averaged  $9.94  per  week,  or  ten  per  cent  more  than 
in  New  England,  the  difference  perhaps  being 
accounted  for  by  the  higher  cost  of  living  in  the 
Middle  States.  How  much  faster  the  manufactures 
have  grown  than  the  population  is  shown  from  the 
fact  that  in  1850  they  were  470  millions  of  dollars, 
and  in  1890,  3,648  millions  of  dollars;  in  1850,  per 
inhabitant,  $71.00,  and  in  1890,  $258.00. 

For  the  reason  already  given  respecting  New  Eng- 
land that  the  discounts  of  the  National  Banks  are  70 
per  cent  of  the  total,  the  sum  for  the  Middle  States 
will  be  1, 197  millions,  equal  to  §77.00  per  inhabitant, 
as  compared  with  $1 1  i.oo  in  New  England.  In  this 
business  of  banking,  Massachusetts  is  relatively 
ahead  of  New  York,  viz. : 

Discotctits. 
Millions  Dollars.    Dollars  per  Inhabitant. 

New  York 688  106 

Massachusetts 373  166 


98  REALITY 

In  like  manner  the  savings  banks  deposits  average 
$99,00  per  inhabitant  in  New  York,  and  $178.00  in 
Massachusetts. 

The  six  Middle  States  give  an  average  of  $660.00 
of  house  property  per  inhabitant,  which  is  double  the 
ratio  found  in  Great  Britain,  and  hence  it  may  be 
affirmed  that  the  people  of  these  States  are,  on  the 
whole,  the  best-housed  community  in  the  world. 
The  accumulation  of  wealth  during  the  forty  years 
averaged  $38.50  per  inhabitant.  The  average  wealth 
per  inhabitant  has  almost  quadrupled  in  forty  years, 
a  marvelous  proof  of  the  progress  of  these  States, 
unparalleled  in  Europe ;  for  McCulloch  lays  it  down 
that  only  prosperous  nations  can  double  their  wealth 
in  that  interval.  The  accumulation  in  the  Middle 
States  per  inhabitant  has  been  $10.20  per  annum 
higher  than  in  New  England,  and  exactly  double 
the  average  accumulation  yearly  in  Great  Britain  in 
the  interval  of  i860- 1895.  Agricultural  wealth 
forms  only  1 5  per  cent  of  the  total  in  the  Middle 
States,  whereas  it  is  25  per  cent  in  the  whole  Union. 
The  average  of  real  estate  in  European  states  is  46 
per  cent.  In  the  Middle  States  of  our  Union  47  per 
cent  of  the  total  wealth  is  covered  with  insurance, 
while  the  insured  property  in  the  whole  United  States 
is  28  per  cent  of  the  wealth. 

These  Middle  States  are  equal  in  area  to  the 
United  Kingdom  of  Great  Britain,  in  population  to 
Spain,  in  manufactures  to  Germany;  their  mineral 
output  more  than  doubles  in  value  that  of  France; 
and  as  regards  wealth  the  single  State  of  New^  York 
is  equal  to  Belgium  and  Holland  put  together. 

In  agriculture  they  represent  14  per  cent  of  that 
of  the  United  States,  27  per  cent  of  the  wealth,  33 


THE  PRAIRIE  STATES  99 


per  cent  of  the  mining,  39  per  cent  of  the  manu- 
factures, 44  per  cent  of  the  banking,  and  55  per 
cent  of  the  foreign  trade  of  the  Union.  The  aver- 
age of  the  six  foregoing  industries  is  35  per  cent, 
while  the  population  is  only  22  per  cent  of  that  of 
the  Union.  Hence  two  persons  in  the  Middle  vStates 
exercise  the  same  influence  in  American  progress  as 
three  persons  in  the  United  States  generally. 

THE  PRAIRIE  STATES. 

In  the  above  interval  of  forty  years,  the  rate  of 
increase  in  the  whole  Union  was  165  per  cent  for 
white  Americans,  and  105  for  colored  people.  The 
population  in  1890  was: 


Born  in 

Prairie  States. 

Immigrants. 

Total. 

Americans  (white, 

including    chil- 

dren of  foreign 

parentage)     .    .  12,100,000 

5,771,000 

17,871,000 

Negroes 280,000 

151,000 

431,000 

Foreigners   .... 

4,060.000 

4.060,000 

Total  Population  .  12,380,000  9,982,000  22,362,000 

The  growth  of  the  urban  population  from  1870  to 
1890,  in  20  years,  was  four  times  as  rapid  as  the 
rural:  the  former  having  risen  210  and  the  latter 
only  50  per  cent. 

Foreign  settlers  are  relatively  most  numerous  in 
Minnesota,  Wisconsin,  and  Dakota,  where  they  form 
one-third  of  the  population.  They  are  lowest  in 
Missouri  and  Indiana,  being  under  10  per  cent. 

Of  foreign  immigrants,  40  per  cent  are  Germans, 
principally  in  Illinois,  Ohio,  and  Wisconsin ;  Scandi- 
navians, 18  per  cent,  chiefly  in  Minnesota;  Irish, 
1 1   per  cent,  mostly  in  Ohio  and  Illinois,  Canadians 


100  REALITY 

having  settled  largely  in  Michigan ;  while  among 
some  four  millions  of  immigrants  from  Northern 
Europe  the  Latin  races  are  almost  unknown,  the 
total  French,  Italians,  Spaniards,  and  Portuguese 
being  only  60,000. 

These  States  produce  more  than  two-thirds  of  the 
grain,  and  possess  nearly  half  of  the  live  stock  of 
the  Union.  The  census  returns  of  the  grain  crops 
show  as  follows: 


Wheat. 

Millions 
Maize. 

Bushels. 
Oats. 

Total. 

Bushels 
per  Itihabitanf. 

1850  . 
1870  . 

1890    . 

■    ■    44 

•  •  195 

•  •  321 

222 

439 

1599 

46 

178 
713 

312 

812 
2633 

58 

62 

118 

While  the  grain  crop  multiplied  eightfold,  there 
was  also  a  prodigious  increase  in  the  production  of 
meat,  to  wit : 


Beef. 

Mutton. 

Pork. 

Total  Tons. 

1850  . 

.    .      215,000 

77,000 

342,000 

634,000 

1894  . 

.    .  1,092,000 

128,000 

968,ooo« 

2,188,000 

In  forty  years  the  improved  area  under  farms 
shows  an  advance  of  157  million  acres,  equal  to  13,000 
acres  daily.  In  other  words,  the  new  farms  laid 
down  and  improved  between  1850  and  1890  exceeded 
the  total  superficial  area  of  the  German  Empire, 
Holland,  Belgium,  and  Denmark  collectively.  There 
has  been  nothing  like  this  in  the  history  of  mankind, 
nor  is  there  any  part  of  the  world  where  farming  is 
on  so,  gigantic  a  scale,  the  census  of  1890  showing  a 
grain  crop  equal  to  three  tons  per  inhabitant,  or  ten 
times  the  European  average.  It  is  true  that  since 
1890  the  production  of  grain  has  declined,  the  aver- 
age crops  for  1893-94-95  being  much  less.  Never- 
theless,  the  production  of  food  is  colossal  as  com- 


FOOD  PRODUCTS  '        loi 

pared  with  that  of  Europe,  for  the  Prairie  States 
raise  nearly  as  much  grain  as  France,  Germany,  and 
Austria  collectively.  Iowa,  the  foremost  State  in  the 
food  product,  averaged  500  pounds  of  meat  per  in- 
habitant, her  grain  crop  being  larger  than  that  of 
Italy  or  Spain,  although  her  population  was  only  two 
millions. 

In  1890,  these  States  produced  more  than  50  per 
cent  of  the  butter  of  the  Union.  The  production 
averaged  23  pounds  to  each  inhabitant,  while  the 
consumption  in  the  whole  Union  averaged  only  six- 
teen pounds.  The  production  of  eggs  was  sufficient 
to  give  208  per  inhabitant,  while  the  average  con- 
sumption in  the  whole  Union  was  only  157. 

The  following  table  will  show  the  acreage  culti- 
vated and  the  hands  employed  in  1890: 

States.  Hands.  Acres.  Acres  per  Hattd. 

Eastern 1,100,000  46,500.000  42 

Southern   ....  3,850,000  103,800.000  27 

Western     ....  3,370,000  207,300,000  62 

U°^°° 8,320,000  357.600,000  43 

The  following  table  will  show  the  superiority  of 
the  farming  in  these  States  compared  with  other 
States  in  the  Union  and  certain  European  states : 

^      ^          ^  Per  Hand. 

Hands         Tons.            Tons.  Gram.       Meat. 
Employed.     Grain.          Meat.    Bushels.   Pounds. 

Prairie  States  .   .  3,060,000  49,700,000  2.190,000  650           1610 

Other  States.    .    .5,260,000  23,300,000  2,760,000  177           1170 

^°^°° 8,320,000  73,000.000  4,950,000  352            1340 

United  Kingdom  .  2,530,000      7,500,000  1,100,000  117  970 

^^^°^^ 7.220,000  18,100,000  1,200,000  100             370 

Germany    .    .    .    .9,350,000  17,100,000  1,520,000  72             360 

One  hand  in  the  Prairie  States  raises  as  much  food 
as  five  can  do  in  most  of  the  advanced  countries  of 


102  REALITY 

Europe,  and  this  is  evidently  due  in  a  great  measure 
to  the  use  of  improved  agricultural  machinery ;  for 
it  is  a  strange  fact  that  the  reaping  hook  is  still  seen 
in  some  parts  of  England,  France,  and  Germany. 

The  wealth  has  increased  in  these  States  ninefold 
in  forty  years,  the  value  of  farms  in  the  twelve  Prai- 
rie States  in  1890  being  equal  to  the  agricultural 
wealth  of  the  Austrian  Empire.  We  find  that  dur- 
ing the  forty  years  the  average  number  of  persons 
engaged  in  farming,  according  to  census  reports, 
was  1,930,000,  the  increase  in  farming  wealth  having 
been  7,596  millions  of  dollars,  or  190  millions  per 
annum  —  that  is  to  say,  each  farming  hand  increased 
the  public  wealth  by  $99.00  a  year. 

The  census  returns  of  manufactures  in  1850  and 
1890  showed  thus: 

Millions  Dollars.     Per  Operative  Dollars. 
No.  of  Operatives.     Wages.  Product.       Wages.  Product. 

1850  ....      HI, 000  30  147  270  1324 

1890  ....  1,407,000         672  3161  478  2247 

The  average  product  per  operative  rose  70,  and 
wages  'j'j  per  cent.  These  States  stand  for  60  per 
cent  of  flour,  55  per  cent  of  meat,  and  50  per  cent 
of  the  lumber  produced  in  the  Union.  The  mining 
output  was  valued  at  183  million  dollars,  or  one-third 
of  the  Union. 

Three  Prairie  farmers  possess  as  much  wealth  as 
four  French,  six  Germans,  or  thirteen  Austrians, 
while  their  taxes  are  much  lighter  and  they  are  free 
from  military  service. 

In  1895  these  States  possessed  94,300  miles  of  rail- 
way, representing  an  outlay  of  4,340  millions  or 
$45,000.00  per  mile,  being  one-fourth  less  than  the 
averaofe  cost  of  American  lines. 


THE  SOUTHERN  STATES 


103 


The  length  of  the  railways  in  these  States  exceeds 
the  aggregate  lines  in  France,  Germany,  Russia,  and 
Austria.  Each  inhabitant  of  the  Prairie  States  has 
seven  yards  of  railway,  against  one  yard  in  France 
or  Germany,  and  two-thirds  of  a  yard  in  Europe  in 
general. 

Discounts  in  1895  amounted  to  840  million  dollars, 
or  $33.00  per  inhabitant,  against  $77.00  in  the  Mid- 
dle States;    savings  banks  deposits,  $4.00  per  inhab- 
itant,  against    $151.00   per  head   in   New   England. 
The  accumulation  of  wealth  has  been  very  rapid,  being 
in    1890  two  and  a  half  times  as  much  as  in  Great 
Britain.     Wealth  in  these  States  has  multiplied  six- 
fold in   30  years,  whereas  in  the  United  Kingdom  it 
only  doubles  in  50  years.     Compared  with  the  Union 
at  large,  the   Prairie  -States  stand  for  36  per  cent  of 
population,  47  per  cent  of  agriculture,  34  per  cent 
of  manufactures,  31   per  cent  of  mining,  and  39  per 
cent  of  wealth;  all  around,  35  per  cent  of  the  great 
Republic.      In  many  respects  they  surpass  in  impor- 
tance  five   or   six    European   empires   and  kingdoms 
rolled  into  one,  and  yet  men  still   living  can  remem- 
ber when  their  population  did  not  exceed  that  of  the 
Island  of  Sardinia. 

THE  SOUTHERN  STATES. 

The  value  of  the  crops  and  pastoral  products  in 
these  States  is  26  per  cent  of  that  of  the  Union, 
which  divided  among  the  population  averages  $50.00 
per  head  against  $34.00  in  the  Middle  States  and 
$56.00  for  the  Union  at  large,  in  manufactures  the 
output  being  $39.00  per  inhabitant  against  $253.00  in 
the  Middle  States.  The  mineral  output  is  two  dol- 
lars per  inhabitant,  while  the  average  in  the  whole 


104  REALITY 

Union  is  $9.00  per  head.  The  trade  of  these  States 
with  foreign  countries  has  doubled  in  forty  years, 
while  that  of  the  Middle  States  has  quadrupled.  The 
discounts  in  banking-  in  1895  in  the  Southern  States 
was  $12.00  per  head,  while  the  average  in  the  whole 
Union  was  $40.00  per  inhabitant.  The  savings 
banks  deposits  averaged  about  50  cents  per  head,  as 
against  $52.00  in  the  Middle  States. 

THE  PACIFIC  STATES.    . 

Although  of  such  recent  formation  that  most  of 
the  Pacific  States  have  sprung  into  existence  since 
i860,  they  possess  more  miles  of  railway  than  any 
European  state  except  France  or  Germany,  and  their 
wealth  exceeds  that  of  Sweden,  Norway,  and  Den- 
mark in  the  aggregate.  The  share  that  falls  to  these 
States  in  making  up  the  great  Republic  may  be  ex- 
pressed as  follows:  Area,  40  per  cent;  population,  6 
per  cent;  agriculture,  8  per  cent;  manufactures,  4 
per  cent;  mining,  25  per  cent;  wealth,  10  per  cent 
of  the  total.  Wealth  has  increased  in  these  States 
ninefold  in  20  years,  the  average  annual  increase  being 
$156.00  per  inhabitant;  in  the  whole  Union,  $39.00. 

EDUCATION. 

The  New  England  States  spend  14  million  dol- 
lars yearly  in  public  instruction  —  say,  $3.00  per 
inhabitant,  as  compared  with  $1.30  in  Great  Britain 
and  80  cents  in  France.  Ninety-eight  per  cent  of 
Americans  in  New  England  can  read  and  write,  the 
average  for  Americans  in  the  Union  being  94  per 
cent. 

In  1893,  the  Middle  States  spent  the  sum  of 
$43,000,000.00  on  public  schools ;  that  is,  only  $4,000,- 


EDUCATION 


105 


ooo.oo  less  than  the  school  expenditure  of  Great 
Britain.  Ninety-seven  per  cent  of  the  native-born 
whites  over  ten  years  of  age  are  able  to  read  and 
write. 

In  the  Prairie  States  the  ratio"  of  instruction  is 
higher  than  in  any  other  part  of  the  Union,  viz. : 

Per  cent  of  Illiterate. 
Americans.    Foreigners.    Total  Population. 

Prairie  States 3,4  10.6  5.7 

Middle  States 2.8  14.5  ^.q 

New  England 1.7  is.i  6.3 

In  the  Prairie  States  each  scholar  costs  $11.00 
yearly,  against  $15.00  in  the  Middle  States  and  $17.00 
in  New  England ;  while  in  the  Southern  States  the 
expenditure  on  public  schools  is  only  84  cents  per 
inhabitant. 

In  the  Pacific  States  the  average  attendance  of 
school  children  in  the  public  schools  is  5  i  per  cent 
of  the  number  of  school  age,  whereas  the  attendance 
for  the  whole  Union  is  only  46  per  cent. 

The  returns  of  public  instruction  for  1895  showed 
the  average  daily  attendance  of  children  and  the 
annual  outlay  as  follows: 

States.    Schoolchildren.  Outlay,  Dollars.  Dollars  per  Child. 
Eastern    .    .  2,520.000                     66,500.000  26.40 

Southern.    .2,790,000  20,400,000  7.30 

Prairie  .    .    .  3,610,000  77.900,000  21.40 

Pacific    .    .    .    470,000  13,500,000  28.70 

Union    .    .    .  9.390,000  178,300,000  19.00 

These  wonderful,  instructive,  and  significant  tables 
have  been  compiled  from  public  documents  and  re- 
ports of  public  officials,  having  in  charge  the  various 
departments  to  which  they  refer,  by  one  of  the  ablest 
and   most   distinguished    statisticians,    Mr.    Mulhall, 


106  REALITY 

of  London,  England,  in  his  Progress  of  the  United 
States,  and  are  unquestionably  reliable.  They  are 
introduced  only  in  part  to  show  somewhat  of  the  vast 
number  of  laborers  employed  in  these  few  depart- 
ments in  which  labor  is  profitably  engaged,  the 
wages  which  were  paid  in  the  various  States  for  the 
class  of  labor  employed,  and  how  their  surplus  earn- 
ings are  to  some  extent  invested.  They  show  be- 
yond doubt  a  constant  increase  and  large  advance  on 
the  ratio  of  wages  to  the  product  in  the  wages  earned, 
and  an  almost  constant  reduction  in  the  cost  of  all 
that  the  laborer  consumes;  that  nowhere  in  the 
world  is  the  laborer  so  well  clothed,  housed,  fed,  and 
paid  as  in  our  own  Republic,  the  average  weekly 
wages  paid  in  the  whole  Union  being  $9. 30  during 
the  last  40  years,  including  the  four  years  of  civil 
war. 

As  to  the  New  England  States,  where  the  manufac- 
tures are  by  far  the  greatest  industry,  no  population, 
relatively,  in  Europe  rivals  New  England  in  manu- 
factures. In  New  England  the  Savings  Banks  are 
expressly  arranged  for  the  savings  of  the  laborers. 
Almost  two-thirds  of  the  depositors  belong  to  the 
working  classes,  since  they  are  equal  to  63  per  cent 
of  the  adult  population,  male  and  female.  Of  these 
2,082,000  depositors,  the  average  deposit  per  inhab- 
itant amounts  to  $151.00.  This  is  only  one  method 
of  disposing  of  the  laborers'  surplus  earnings.  In 
the  aggregate,  immense  sums  are  invested  in  local 
and  Western  mortgages,  national  bank  stocks,  rail- 
road bonds,  mill  and  factory  stocks,  and  in  Building 
and  Loan  Associations,  which  for  the  last  fifteen  years 
have  become  one  of  the  most  popular  methods  of  in- 
vesting surplus  earnings  among  the  working  classes. 


WHA  T  MULHALL  '5  TABLES  SHO  W  107 

The  reports  are  limited  and  far  from  complete,  but 
from  those  extant  the  local  Building  and  Loan  Asso- 
ciations had  assets,  in  1895,  of  over  one  hundred  mil- 
lion dollars. 

G.  W.  Steevens,  in  his  The  Land  of  the  Dollar, 
says:  "  Philadelphia  is  a  city  of  homes.  Of  its 
200,000  families  it  has  been  estimated  that  seven- 
eiofhths  live  in  self-contained  homes  who  elsewhere 
would  live  in  flats  or  tenements,  and  that  about  three- 
quarters  of  these  own  their  own  homes  in  which 
they  live.  Philadelphia  strikes  you  as  above  all 
things  a  civilized  city  —  a  city  where  the  people 
sometimes  have  a  little  leisure.  Elsewhere  they  do 
business  or  seek  pleasure;  here  they  live. 
While  this  equable  prosperity  came  over  the  center, 
there  grew  up  a  tract  of  indistinguishable  houses 
round  about  it.  There  are  150,000  of  them,  and 
you  can  no  easier  tell  them  apart  than  peas  out  of  a 
pod.  But  in  these  houses  the  Philadelphia  workman 
lives  and  dies;  his  son  lives  and  dies  there  after  him, 
and  his  grandson  after  his  son.  The  acres  of  little 
indistinguishable  streets  that  you  wander  through 
unprofitably  for  hours,  are  the  Savings  Banks  of  the 
thrifty  Philadelphian.  Thus,  while  in  New  England 
the  workman's  surplus  wealth  is  invested  in  bank 
and  corporation  stocks,  in  Philadelphia  it  is  invested 
more  largely  in  real  estate." 

The  tables  of  statistics  of  Mr.  Mulhall,  from  which 
we  have  copied  largely,  using  his  own  language 
as  far  as  possible  in  statements,  comparisons,  and 
explanations,  do  not  by  any  means  exhaust  the  ar- 
ticles written  by  him.  They  are  a  magnificent 
encyclopedia  of  statements  and  statistics,  most  lumi- 
nous and  interesting  to  every  American,  on  the  prog- 


108  REALITY 

ress  of  the  United  States  —  a  whole  library  in  five 
articles.  They  should  be  carefully  read  and  studied 
by  every  man,  woman,  and  child  of  the  Republic. 

No  fair-minded  man,  no  good  citizen,  can  read 
these  articles,  be  he  multi-millionaire  or  proletarian, 
if  he  is  a  patriot,  without  feeling  his  heart  swell  with 
gratitude  and  pride  at  the  marvelous  progress  of  this 
nation  in  the  last  forty  years.  These  statements  and 
statistics  are  the  work  of  a  foreigner,  probably  the 
world's  ablest  statistician  at  the  present  time ;  and 
therefore  must  be  taken  as  accurate  and  reliable. 
They  show  beyond  dispute  that  the  wages  paid 
to  over  a  billion  of  American  laborers,  there  con- 
sidered, average  weekly,  for  forty  years,  the  sum 
of  $9.30;  that  over  63  per  cent  of  the  depositors 
in  the  Savings  Banks,  the  rules  of  which  prohibit 
checking  against  the  deposits  on  demand,  at  least  in 
the  greatest  manufacturing  center  of  the  world.  New 
England,  are  workingmen.  According  to  estimates 
formulated  by  bankers  the  deposits  in  the  Sav- 
ings Banks  for  1897  reached  the  enormous  sum  of 
$1,897,000,000.00. 

Can  it  be  possible  that  any  American  citizen,  un- 
less he  were  dreaming,  could  class  these  laborers  as 
paupers,  living  in  abject  moral  depravity,  when  on 
an  average  all  over  the  United  States  the  weekly 
wages  paid  laborers,  for  over  forty  consecutive  years, 
were  $9.30?  Moreover,  these  tables  show  that  the 
ratio  of  wages  paid  to  the  product  has  constantly  in- 
creased, while  the  cost  of  articles  of  necessary  con- 
sumption has  constantly  decreased.  That  the  con- 
dition of  the  American  laborer  is  vastly  superior  to 
that  of  the  toilers  of  the  most  advanced  of  European 
countries.      That  these  laborers  are  better  housed, 


IVHA  T  MULHALVS  TABLES  SHOW  109 

fed,  paid,  and  clothed,  and  enjoy  —  many  of  them  — 
what  are  called  the  luxuries  of  life.  Many  of  them 
have  books,  magazines,  pictures,  musical  instru- 
ments, the  newspapers  of  the  day,  are  cultured, 
refined,  well-dressed,  take  their  part  in  all  the  sociol- 
ogy of  their  community,  and  are  as  respected,  hon- 
ored, and  beloved  as  any  class  of  our  citizens.  To 
class  them  among  the  paupers  of  society,  therefore, 
is  not  only  unfair,  utterly  unwarranted  and  cruel,  but 
absolutely  untruthful. 

These  tables  show  beyond  cavil  or  dispute,  or  the 
possible  chance  of  either,  that  the  progress  of  the 
United  States  in  the  era  covered  by  most  of  these 
tables,  forty  years,  has  been  unparalleled  in  the 
world's  history.  That  period  includes  the  greatest 
internecine  war  in  the  records  of  time,  of  over  four 
years'  duration,  in  which  a  million  of  men  perished, 
and  untold  millions  of  property  were  sacrificed  and 
utterly  destroyed  in  the  stern  arbitrament  of  war; 
and  in  the  face,  as  the  Dreamer  asserts,  of  panics, 
crises,  gluts  of  the  market,  and  an  absolute  continu- 
ous series  of  boycotts  and  strikes  of  under-paid  and 
dissatisfied  laborers. 

All  this,  it  must  be  remembered,  has  been  accom- 
plished under  the  present  labor  system  of  competi- 
tion—  wages,  cooperation,  and  profit-sharing. 

But  more,  these  wonderfully  luminous  and  inspir- 
ing statistics  show  the  almost  fabulous  sums  paid  for 
the  education  of  the  rising  generation ;  probably 
over  two  hundred  millions  of  dollars  for  the  year 
1897.  They  show  the  vast  majority  of  the  American 
people  are  fairly  well  satisfied  with  their  form  of 
government,  its  courts,  and  the  administration  of  its 
laws  generally ;  that  they  propose  to  keep  working 


110  REALITY 

undersold  Glory"  on  the  same  lines  until  some- 
thing more  positive  than  dreams  can  be  offered  as  a 
substitute  for  our  noble  Constitution.  Gladstone,  the 
foremost  of  European  statesmen,  avers  that  our 
* '  Constitution  is  the  greatest  production  of  uninspired 
man,"  under  which  we  have  already  reached  the 
grandest  results  and  civilization  known  to  mankind 
in  history. 

These  tables  show  that  the  average  number,  dur- 
ing the  last  forty  years,  according  to  the  census, 
engaged  in  farming  was  1,930,000,  and  that  the  in- 
crease of  farm  wealth  was  7,596  millions  of  dollars, 
a  sum  that  the  Dreamer  cannot  conceive ;  or,  in  other 
words,  an  increase  of  190  millions  per  annum. 

It  will  take  more  than  one  election,  indeed  the 
time  will  never  come,  when  these  noble  American 
farmers,  who  have  increased  their  farming  wealth  on 
an  average  of  190  million  dollars  a  year  for  forty 
consecutive  years  last  passed,  will  turn  over  their 
fertile,  prosperous,  and  beautiful  farms  to  be  managed 
by  a  Social  Democracy  combine,  a  paternal  govern- 
ment of  politicians,  for  S45.00  a  month,  and  no  se- 
curity whatever  for  that, —  only  the  statements  of 
the  Dreamer  as  to  what  his  politicians  are  expected 
to  do.  It  is  impossible  to  conceive  any  class  of 
American  people  who  can  be  influenced  by  such  a 
chimerical  scheme.  Certainly  the  farmers  of  this 
country  will  never  for  a  moment  think  of  exchang- 
ing their  magnificent,  beautiful,  and  lucrative  farms, 
according  to  these  tables,  and  their  own  free,  inde- 
pendent, and  absolute  control  of  them,  for  any  $45.00 
a  month  that  the  Dreamer  may  have  to  offer. 

Can  any  citizen  believe  that  such  a  material  civili- 
zation,   that   the    constitution   and   the   laws   under 


OUR  GOVERNMENT  NOT  A  FAILURE 


111 


which  it  has  been  achieved,  is  a  total  failure  and  un- 
worthy of  the  most  cordial  support  and  admiration? 


"  O,  wad  some  pow'r  the  giftie  gie  us 
To  see  oursels  as  ithers  see  us ! 
It  wad  frae  mony  a  blunder  free  us, 
And  foolish  notion." — Burns. 


EVOLUTION  — IN  LAW 

' '  Those  who  claim  intuition  of  God,  have  no  other  reve- 
lation to  make  of  him  than  that  with  which  we  are  all 
familiar.  We  deny,  in  the  self-elected  light  of  any  tiew 
phenomena,  any  superiority  of  power,  any  transcendency  in 
virtue,  which  zve  need  in  explanation!  of  the  alleged  addi- 
tional resources. 

^^ Nothing  can  by  any  possibility  touch  the  zvor Id  of  mat- 
ter, toucJi  the  world  of  mind,  without  encountering  their 
laws,  each  thing  is  there  for  that  very  purpose." — 
Bascom,   Evolution  and  Religion. 

The  contention  of  the  self-elected  light  in  Equal- 
ity is  that  the  laws  which  have  produced  our  pres- 
ent civilization  are  insufficient  to  accomplish  a  per- 
fected moral,  ethical,  and  economic  condition  in  the 
world ;  that  our  present  civilization  is  a  failure,  and 
that  the  race  is  degenerating.  The  fallacy  of  this 
position  seems  apparent  when  we  compare  the  pres- 
ent condition  of  individual  and  race  attainment  with 
any  other  former  period,  or  with  the  beginnings  of 
individual  or  racial  experience. 

The  progress  has  fluctuated ;  rising  at  times  like 
the  ocean  waves  in  the  whirling  storm  to  mountain 
heights,  and  then  again  sinking  into  the  placid  calm 
of  the  level  sea. 

Everywhere  the  world  over  there  has  never  been 
an  era  in  which  there  has  been  such  intense  activity 
and  exertion   in  the  individual  life,   never  such  un- 


fki^ 


114  REALITY 

paralleled  effort  for  perfecting  every  form  and  power 
of  national  government,  for  the  largest  possible  liber- 
ty, protection,  and  enlightenment  of  their  subjects, 
as  at  the  present  time. 

Never  has  there  been  an  era,  in  which  there  were 
so  many  altruistic  and  purely  benevolent  organiza- 
tions, supported  by  inspired,  consecrated  leaders  and 
energetic,  self-denying  workers,  controlling  and 
using  fabulous  amounts  of  sanctified  wealth  for  the 
enlightenment  of  the  ignorant,  the  uplifting  of  the 
poor  and  the  toiling  masses ;  for  the  renovating  and 
beautifying  of  the  home  life,  and  the  banishment  of 
the  dark  shadows  that  everywhere  envelop  the  peo- 
ple; for  filling  the  world  with  the  sunlight  of  nobler 
experiences,  a  more  happy  and  joyous  physical,  in- 
tellectual, and  spiritual  existence  than  in  the  closing 
years  of  this  century.  Everywhere,  in  accordance 
with  the  oriental  proverb,  the  effort  is  to  turn  water 
into  wine,  sadness  into  mirth,  and  sorrow  into  joy. 

These  vast  and  powerful  organizations  have  already 
discovered  and  penetrated  nearly  every  land;  and 
have  brought  to  the  light  of  a  better  life  people  ex- 
isting amid  the  darkness  of  ignorance,  squalor,  and 
superstition.  They  have  invaded  the  slums  of  the 
over-populated  cities,  and  are  relieving  in  every  prac- 
tical way  the  misery  and  suffering  of  these  unfor- 
tunate people. 

It  is  undoubtedly  the  consensus  of  opinion  of  all 
competent  to  judge  of  the  phenomena,  and  is  unques- 
tionably true,  that  the  wave  of  civilization  has  now 
reached  a  higher  point  than  ever  before  in  the 
experience  of  mankind. 

In  the  Death  Valley  in  California  there  are  won- 
derful mirages  which  addle  the  brain  and  twist  the 


THE  DEATH  VALLEY  IMAGE  115 


traveler  about,  until  he  is  completely  lost  in  the  sandy 
waste.  He  sees  nothing  clearly  at  a  distance,  the 
dazzling  brilliancy  of  the  sun  on  the  long  stretches 
of  glittering  sand  distorting  his  vision.  Fantastic 
atmospheric  pictures  are  seen,  perfect  mirages  of 
streams  of  water,  shady  nooks,  and  inviting  green 
hills.  These  lure  the  traveler  from  his  path  and 
cause  him  to  walk  around  in  great  circles,  piloting 
him  one  way  for  a  time,  and  then  inviting  him  in 
another,  until  he  is  utterly  lost  and  miserably  per- 
ishes. 

When  the  Dreamer  asserts  that  all  civilization  is  a 
failure,  he  must  have  some  Death  Valley  image  be- 
fore his  vision,  his  brain  addled  with  the  poisonous 
effects  of  his  pessimistic  theories  of  life  and  the 
experiences  of  the  race.  He  must  believe  in  the 
schoolboy's  definition  "that  a  pessimist  is  a  man 
who  is  miserable  when  he  is  happy." 

Of  the  progress  of  the  race  there  can  be  no  doubt, 
and  that  the  trend  is  a  constant  move  to  the  higher 
planes  of  life.  Herbert  Spencer  says:  "  No  matter 
what  the  special  nature  of  the  evil,  it  is  invariably 
referable  to  some  generic  cause  —  want  of  congruity 
between  the  faculties  and  their  spheres  of  action.  In 
virtue  of  our  essential  principles  of  life,  this  non- 
adaptation  of  an  organism  to  its  conditions  is  ever 
being  rectified ;  and  modification  of  one  or  both  con- 
tinues until  the  adaptation  is  complete.  Whatever 
possesses  vitality,  from  the  elementary  cell  up  to 
man  himself,  inclusive,  obeys  this  law." 

If  we  believe  the  story  of  Adam  and  Eve  in  the 
Garden  and  of  the  fall  of  man,  we  must  also  believe 
that  he  struck  on  his  feet,  for  he  has  made  a  pro- 
gressive  march  ever  since  without  any  economical 


116  REALITY 

theory  as  a  basis  of  action.  The  first  authentic  prod- 
uct was  easily  distributed  when  Eve  carried  the  apple 
to  Adam  and  he  ate,  and  there  was  the  greatest  con- 
sternation, crisis,  panic,  and  glut  in  the  market  ever 
experienced  by  the  race.  No  further  effort  was  made 
to  distribute  the  product  of  the  Garden,  but  a  new 
industrial  system  was  established  —  that  of  wages  and 
cooperation ;  the  eating  of  the  bread  by  the  sweat  of 
the  brow. 

If  the  same  inspired  narrative  be  true,  one-third  of 
the  male  portion  of  the  race  was  murdered  in  the  very 
morning  of  time.  No  mirage  in  the  Death  Valley 
can  obliterate  or  obscure  the  fact  that  at  least  the 
male  portion  of  the  race  has  made  vast  progress 
since  that  time  in  the  cultivation  and  development 
of  brotherly  love,  nor  has  the  feminine  portion  of 
humanity  been  neglected. 

The  mark  of  the  Creator's  displeasure  was  placed 
upon  the  murderer's  brow,  and  the  people  have  been 
most  careful  to  see  that  it  was  stamped  upon  the 
murderer  ever  since.  According  to  Josephus,  Cain 
escaped  the  death  penalty  because  of  his  offering, 
and  because  he  entreated  the  Lord,  and  said,  "  My 
punishment  is  greater  than  I  can  bear."  The  Jewish 
code  prepared  by  Moses,  who  is  supposed  to  have 
been  inspired  for  its  preparation,  demanded  that  "  the 
land  must  not  be  defiled  with  innocent  blood;"  and 
further :  ' '  Deliver  him  into  the  hand  of  the  avenger  of 
blood,  that  he  may  die.  Thine  pye  shall  not  pity 
him."  "  Thou  shalt  stone  him  with  stones."  And 
again :  "  If  a  man  have  a  stubborn  and  rebellious  son, 
which  will  not  obey  the  voice  of  his  father,  or  the 
voice  of  his  mother,  ....  then  shall  his 
father  and  his  mother  lay  hold  on  him,  and  bring 


THE  JURY  SYSTEM  117 

him  out  unto  the  elders  of  his  city,  and  unto  the 
gate  of  his  place ;  and  they  shall  say  unto  the  elders 
of  his  city,  '  This  our  son  is  stubborn  and  rebellious, 
he  will  not  obey  our  voice;  he  is  a  glutton,  and  a 
drunkard.'  And  all  the  men  of  his  city  shall  stone 
him  with  stones,  that  he  die :  .  .  .  .  and  all 
Israel  shall  hear,  and  fear."  What  a  horrible  death 
for  such  an  offense ! 

And  yet  our  criminal  law  is  largely  based  upon  this 
code  and  the  moral  teachings  of  this  nation.  As  a 
whole  there  has  been  a  vast  improvement  in  the 
treatment  of  criminals.  The  death  penalty,  and  even 
imprisonment  for  what  are  called  misdemeanors  and 
felonies,  crimes  against  property  and  personal  rights, 
have  been  constantly  changed  for  the  better  since 
the  Jewish  code  was  in  full  force  and  effect.  Public 
sentiment  crystallized  into  law  has  removed  chattel 
slavery  the  world  over,  which  until  a  comparatively 
recent  period  crushed  in  hopeless  bondage  and 
misery  its  countless  millions. 

THE  JURY  SYSTEM. 

The  jury  system,  where  for  all  criminal  offenses 
and  most  civil  actions  the  right  exists  for  every  one 
to  be  tried  by  his  peers,  was  a  vast  improvement  upon 
all  previous  jurisprudence.  It  was  the  poor  man's 
Magna  Charta,  his  ne  plus  ultra,  originating  or  receiv- 
ing its  first  prominent  development  in  the  admirable 
system  of  Roman  laws.  The  cause  was  heard,  argued, 
and  determined  by  the  assembled  people,  often  to 
the  number  of  five  hundred;  and  a  majority  verdict 
determined  the  issues.  Later,  and  in  modern  times, 
at  least  twelve  of  the  jury  must  agree  upon  the  ver- 
dict in  most  of  our  States. 


118  REALITY 

The  fundamental  theory  in  the  system  was,  and 
is,  that  a  man  charged  with  a  crime  shall  in  every 
case  have  a  fair,  impartial  trial  by  his  peers  —  those 
of  similar  attainments  and  knowledge  of  his  busi- 
ness or  occupation.  This  basic  principle  of  absolute 
equality  before  the  law  has  been  the  bulwark  of  in- 
dividual liberty  in  all  enlightened  nations,  and  ren- 
dered civilization  possible.  No  one  principle  has 
been  so  universal  in  its  application,  or  so  potent  and 
beneficent  in  its  results.  It  generates  self-respect, 
without  which  there  can  be  no  character  building  and 
individual  development.  It  ennobles  man,  appeals 
powerfully  to  his  ambition  and  pride  of  character,  to 
feel  that  he  is  fully  equal  to  every  other  man  in  his 
legal  relations.  It  satisfies  him  to  know  that  all 
the  power  of  the  State  is  pledged  to  hear  his  conten- 
tion ;  to  see  that  justice  is  done  him,  that  his  person, 
character,  reputation,  property,  and  life  are  fully  and 
fairly  protected  by  the  full  power  of  the  State  and 
nation.  It  places  all  individuals  upon  the  same  plane 
of  equality  before  the  law,  and  it  is  the  only  place 
or  method  of  civil  or  social  polity  where  this  abso- 
lute equality  can  be  obtained.  It  breaks  down  all 
barriers  of  caste,  class  distinctions,  sex,  and  social  re- 
lations; and  is  the  greatest  power  in  the  hands  of 
the  poor  for  the  preservation  of  their  liberties,  and 
the  protection  of  their  personal  and  property  rights 
against  the  insidious  encroachments  of  political  in- 
trigue and  the  scheming  audacity  of  soulless  individ- 
ual and  combined  wealth.  The  jury  are  sworn  fairly 
and  impartially  to  try  the  issues  when  the  greatest 
plutocrat,  multi-millionaire,  and  the  poorest  and  most 
debased  proletarian  are  parties.  The  juries  are 
usually  fairly  chosen ;   but  practically  the  well-to-do 


WHOM  THE  LA  WS  FA  VOR  119 

and  wealthy  evade  this  patriotic  duty,  and  the  juries, 
at  least  in  this  country,  are  composed  of  what  the 
Dreamer  designates  the  toiling  masses.  It  is  exceed- 
ingly rare  when  a  man  of  wealth  or  large  business 
or  professional  interests  is  found  upon  a  jury.  The 
judges  are  elected  in  the  several  States  by  the  same 
class  of  voters.  The  result  is  that,  as  far  as  any  prej- 
udices, sympathy,  or  self-interest  of  any  class  are 
concerned,  every  verdict  is  toward  the  release  of  the 
poor  man  from  the  penalties  of  a  breach  of  the  law, 
or  the  oppressions  of  an  avaricious  creditor. 

In  this  country  the  aldermen  in  the  cities,  the 
legislators  in  the  States,  and  the  members  of  the 
National  Congress,  together  with  the  President,  are 
all  elected  by  the  same  voters;  and  a  majority  elects, 
with  a  few  minor  exceptions.  This  majority  is  al- 
ways composed  of  what  Bellamy  calls  the  toiling 
masses.  All  the  lawmakers  in  the  land,  being  elected 
chiefly  by  the  anti-capitalistic  vote  and  dependent 
upon  it  for  their  offices  of  influence  and  power,  are 
usually  willing  and  anxious  to  incorporate  the  wishes 
of  their  constituents  into  the  law  of  the  land.  The 
trend,  therefore,  of  the  laws  and  the  political  power 
is  towards  and  in  the  interests  of  the  anti-capitalistic 
voter.  The  ratio  of  this  movement  is  always  about 
in  proportion  to  the  progress  and  the  culture  of  these 
electors.  In  other  words,  capital  and  wealth  can 
have  little  influence  upon  the  cultured  juror  and 
elector  in  a  country  where  the  ballot  is  free. 

It  therefore  follows  without  question  that,  in  our 
country's  experience  as  a  free  people,  the  laws  have 
generally  tended  towards  the  relief  and  protection  of 
the  middle  and  poorer  classes,  and  against  the  capi- 
talist and  wealthy  classes.   The  capitalist  and  wealthy 


120  REALITY 

class,  being  as  is  asserted  only  one-tenth  of  the  popu- 
lation, is  always  in  a  hopeless  minority  either  among 
the  jurors  or  the  electors,  whose  representatives 
make  the  laws  of  the  land  and  who  are  entrusted 
with  their  enforcement.  On  the  jury,  and  at  every 
election,  the  ballot  of  the  humblest  citizen  counts  for 
just  as  much  as  the  Astors',  Vanderbilts',  and  Rocke- 
fellers' of  the  country.  Corporations,  though  en- 
dowed by  a  fiction  of  law  with  personality  for  certain 
purposes,  are  never  registered  or  allowed  the  privi- 
lege of  casting  a  ballot  under  the  Australian  system 
or  any  other  at  a  popular  election. 

To  assert,  then,  that  the  capitalists  and  the  wealthy 
men  of  the  country,  estimated  at  one-tenth  of  the 
voting  population,  absolutely  control  the  juries  and 
the  electors  of  this  country,  is  to  charge  such  electors 
with  an  ignorance,  want  of  appreciation  of  the  ad- 
vantages of  a  free  government,  a  depravity  and  posi- 
tive crime,  that  there  are  no  sufficient  facts  to  sustain. 
It  is  an  uncalled-for  insult  to  the  voters  of  America,  to 
their  moral  character,  their  intellectual  attainments, 
and  their  patriotism. 

PROGRESS  ALONG  INDUSTRIAL  LINES. 

Not  only  has  the  political  polity  of  the  nation  been 
constantly  growing  more  favorable  to  the  political 
power  and  interest  of  the  electors,  but  the  same  tend- 
ency is  noticeable  in  a  marked  degree  along  all 
property  and  industrial  lines. 

The  National  Government  practically  donated  one 
hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  fine  land  to  each  of  the 
homeless  citizens  who  were  wise  enough  to  accept  it 
and  develop  it.  Laws  have  been  passed  in  nearly  all 
of  the  States  reducing  the  legal  rate  of  interest,  the 


THE  POWER  OF  WEALTH  121 

income  of  capital,  fully  one-half  in  the  last  fifty  years. 
The  laws  exempt  a  homestead  and  the  working  uten- 
sils of  the  laborer,  the  mechanic,  and  the  professional 
man,  and  the  necessary  stock  to  make  a  living  from 
the  farm,  and  several  hundred  dollars  of  money,  fur- 
niture, pictures,  and  food,  for  a  time,  from  seizure 
and  execution  for  debts.  The  mechanic  has  a  lien 
upon  every  brick  laid,  while  only  a  limited  part  of 
the  wages  of  the  wage-earner  can  be  garnisheed  in 
some  of  the  States  for  the  payment  of  debts.  While 
the  eight-hour  law  and  the  limiting  and  forbidding 
child  labor  are  not  necessarily  anti-capitalistic,  they 
are  most  decidedly  in  the  interest  of  labor.  All  this 
and  much  more  has  been  enacted  in  favor  of  the 
laboring  classes  and  is  anti-capitalistic.  In  most  of 
the  States  the  laws,  made  by  their  own  sympathetic 
representatives,  throw  every  possible  safeguard 
around  the  laborer  to  help  him  in  obtaining  fair 
wages,  frequent  and  certain  payment,  and,  in  many 
States,  wise  and  safe  provisions  for  the  investment 
and  use  of  the  same. 

The  charge  that  the  laws  of  our  land,  made  by  the 
representatives  of  labor,  are  opposed  to  the  laborer 
and  are  nullified  and  overcome  by  the  capitalists  and 
wealth  of  our  land,  must  fail  utterly  for  the  want  of 
adequate  proof  to  sustain  the  assertion. 

Wealth  and  capital  are  exceedingly  powerful,  but 
they  are  not  omnipotent.  Their  chief  power  lies  in 
the  culture  of  their  possessors,  in  their  intimate 
knowledge  of  all  business  methods  of  the  people 
with  their  intellectual  capacity  and  moral  stamina, 
and  in  the  rapidity  with  which  they  can  ascertain 
advantageous  conditions  and  concentrate  for  speedy 
action.     Capital  is   prescient,   cold-blooded,    unsym- 


122  REALITY 

pathetic,  and  exceedingly  timid.  It  often  works 
through  invisible  or  unknown  agents,  and  is  at  times 
exceedingly  avaricious,  cruel,  selfish,  and  despotic. 
Yet  often  it  is  very  generous,  patriotic,  and  generally 
satisfied  with  fairly  reasonable  returns  on  the  invest- 
ments made.  Many  of  its  greatest  possessors  are  the 
most  cultured,  benevolent,  generous,  and  charitable 
of  our  citizens.  After  all'  the  Dreamer  has  said  about 
its  evil  power  and  effects,  what  would  the  world  be 
but  a  barren  waste,  and  the  people  but  starving,  un- 
cultured, depraved  paupers,  without  it?  And  what 
would  the  perfected  humanity  so  delightfully  pic- 
tured in  Equality  be  without  the  small  capital  of 
the  farmers,  the  confiscated  wealth  of  the  railroads, 
the  mines,  the  telegraph  and  telephone  systems,  the 
stolen  possessions  of  the  private  capitalists,  and  the 
accumulated  wealth  of  the  land  ?  It  is  this  very  ill- 
gotten  wealth  that  makes  so  beautiful,  grand,  and 
inspiring  the  perfected  life,  happiness,  and  favorable 
conditions  of  the  people  in  the  year  two  thousand. 
It  is  that  which  furnishes  their  maintenance,  enables 
the  paternal  government  to  sustain  its  numerous 
families,  which  could  not  exist  in  all  their  splendor 
without  it. 

There  is  little  danger  to  society  from  the  influence 
and  power  of  wealth,  where  its  possessors  must 
necessarily  be  few  in  numbers  and  where  the  ballot 
is  free  and  in  the  hands  of  intelligent  voters.  If  the 
voters  were  all  as  well  cultured  as  the  capitalists, 
then  the  danger  would  be  slight  and  reduced  to  a 
minimum. 

Eugene  V.  Debs  was  right  for  once  when  he  said 
to  the  West  Virginia  miners:  "  What  you  men  need 
is  more  books  and  less  booze." 


MONOPOLIES,  ETC  123 

It  is  claimed  by  the  advocates  of  Social  Democracy 
that  the  theory  of  our  Government  is  not  sustained  in 
its  political  administration. 

If,  with  the  present  jury  system  and  a  free  ballot, 
the  nine-tenths  of  the  anti-capitalistic  voters  cannot 
control  the  one-tenth  of  capitalists,  a  free  govern- 
ment of  the  people,  by  the  people,  and  for  the  people 
is  an  impossibility.  Nor  could  a  combination  of 
capitalists  and  politicians,  were  such  a  union  pos- 
sible, overcome  the  vastly  more  numerous  anti-capi- 
talistic votes.  Such  a  combination  is  impractical, 
since  the  politician  must  have  a  majority  of  the  votes 
of  the  nine-tenths  of  the  anti-capitalistic  vote  to  be 
elected,  and  but  a  small  fraction  of  the  electors  are 
for  sale,  no  matter  how  much  the  capitalists  may 
have  for  investment  in  votes.  At  the  Presidential 
election,  when  Hayes  and  Tilden  were  candidates, 
any  sum  of  money  could  have  been  raised  for  a  single 
electorial  vote ;  but  not  one  could  be  found  for  sale. 
At  times  the  politician  and  the-  capitalist  may  here 
and  there  succeed;  but  as  a  whole,  and  with  the  Aus- 
tralian ballot  and  wisely  conducted  primary  elections, 
the  facts  will  sustain  the  above  theory.  It  all  de- 
pends upon  the  culture,  the  courage,  the  patriotism, 
and  vigilance  of  the  majority  of  the  electors,  whether 
our  free  Government  is  to  be  continued  or  become 
the  prey  of  politicians  and  capitalists. 

MONOPOLIES,  COMBINES,  TRUSTS,  AND  CORPORATIONS. 

While  recognizing  to  its  fullest  extent  the  evil 
effects  and  powerful  influence  of  so-called  monopo- 
lies, trusts,  combines,  and  corporations,  they  are  by 
no  means   so   powerful,  unpatriotic,  oppressive,  and 


124  REALITY 

dangerous  to  the  people  and  civil  liberty  as  repre- 
sented in  Equality. 

There  has  been  a  vast  improvement  through  the 
passing  centuries  along  this  line  since  Jacob  obtained 
a  monopoly  of  the  ring-streaked,  grizzled,  and  spec- 
kled cattle  over  Laban,  the  Syrian,  in  the  fertile 
plains  of  Gilead. 

History  is  full  of  complaints  against  them,  but  we 
have  no  such  monopolies  as  were  granted  by  the 
kings  and  monarchs  of  the  earlier  times,  when  the 
powers  that  reigned  by  divine  right  or  military 
might  granted  the  exclusive  control  of  the  unlimited 
profits  arising  from  vast  commercial  transactions. 
We  have  nothing  like  the  East  India  Company, 
chartered  in  1600  by  Queen  Elizabeth,  which  con- 
tinued until  1873,  and  which  had  almost  exclu- 
sive right  for  273  years  to  carry  on  and  enjoy  the  vast 
commerce  of  the  Indies,  whose  name  even  was  the 
synonym  for  fabulous  wealth;  or  like  the  Hudson 
Bay  Company,  established  by  Charles  the  Second  in 
1670,  continuing  its  vast  operations  over  two  cen- 
turies until  1870,  which  had  similar  powers  over 
an  almost  unlimited  territory  in  Canada  and  the 
Northwest.  These  and  other  immense  franchises 
were  granted  by  the  kings,  for  distinguished  military 
or  political  services  rendered,  as  a  personal  favor  or 
gift  to  some  relative  or  friend  of  the  ruling  power. 
No  matter  what  changed  conditions  or  march  of  im- 
provements, these  privileges  and  powers  continued, 
and  once  granted  were  practically  irrevocable. 

We  have  nothing  of  the  kind.  All  of  our  so-called 
monopolies,  corporations,  trusts,  and  combines  are  the 
creatures  of  laws  enacted  and  enforced  by  the  people 
and  their  representatives,  and  are  constantly  subject 


MODERN  CORPORATIONS  LIMITED  BY  LAW     125 


to  their  control.  They  are  limited  by  city,  State,  and 
national  laws  made  by  the  citizens  affected  by  them. 
They  are  usually  limited  by  the  terms  of  the  incor- 
porating act,  are  usually  local  in  their  operations, 
and  confined  to  a  particular  line  of  business;  and 
they  must  confine  their  operations  within  the  scope 
granted  by  the  empowering  legislative  enactment. 
They  have  no  powers  whatever  except  those  granted 
them,  and  cannot  exist  except  by  legislative  author- 
ity. They  are  absolutely  the  creatures  of  the  legis- 
lative act  of  the  city,  State,  or  Congress  granting  the 
power,  and  always  are,  or  should  be,  subject  to  their 
control. 

They  are  seldom,  if  ever,  given  the  exclusive 
power  to  conduct  their  special  business ;  but  are  sub- 
ject to  a  general  law  under  which  any  number  of 
similar  corporations,  monopolies,  trusts,  and  combines 
may  organize  and  compete  with  them  for  whatever 
profits  there  may  be  in  their  particular  line  of  trade, 
mining,  or  commerce. 

The  risk  of  similar  corporations  organizing  under 
these  general  laws  and  competing  for  the  profits 
must  always  be  assumed  by  them. 

These  general  laws  were  wisely  made  by  the  people 
in  their  own  interests,  that  great  advantages  might 
accrue  to  them  by  combinations  of  accumulated 
wealth  and  capital.  Thus  the  people  anticipated  the 
future  by  gigantic  enterprises  for  the  development 
of  the  products  of  the  country,  which  no  one  capi- 
talist could  accomplish,  and  for  which  the  people  did 
not  wish  directly  to  tax  themselves.  These  laws  are 
wise  and  beneficent  and  have  been  exceedingly  help- 
ful to  the  prosperity  of  the  whole  country.  The  only 
cause  for  complaint  is  the  deliberate  breach  of  the 


126  REALITY 

laws  by  selfish  and  avaricious  men  managing  the  cor- 
porations, and  the  fierce  competition  for  great  and 
immediate  returns  which  often  denies  the  laborers 
who  are  employed  to  conduct  them  reasonable  wages, 
and  also  the  indifference  of  the  people  in  the  rigid 
enforcement  of  the  laws  under  which  they  act. 

There  is  little  danger  to  be  apprehended  from  this 
source  to  the  liberties  of  the  people  and  the  national 
life,  as  long  as  the  people  and  the  electors  are  vigi- 
lant in  protecting  their  interests  and  careful  to  en- 
force the  laws  of  the  land. 

All  the  power  is  in  the  hands  of  the  people,  and 
every  such  franchise  can  at  once  be  revoked  whenever 
it  can  be  shown  that  any  of  the  terms  and  conditions 
of  the  empowering  act  have  not  been  strictly  complied 
with.  Or,  if  in  the  operating  of  the  franchises 
granted  it  can  be  shown  that  they  are  inimical  to  the 
public  weal,  the  powers  can  be  immediately  revoked 
as  repugnant  to  the  Constitution. 

As  a  dernier  resort  the  electors  can  tax  them  out  of 
existence,  for  the  taxing  power  is  always  in  the  hands 
of  the  electors. 

Washington  said :  "  In  proportion  as  the  structure 
of  a  government  gives  force  to  public  opinion,  it 
shall  be  enlightened." 

When  the  business  becomes  unprofitable  by  rea- 
son of  taxation  or  any  other  cause,  they  will  cease  to 
exist  or  menace  the  people.  They  are  to  a  certain 
extent  the  result  of  the  speedy  development  of  the 
vast  resources  of  our  country.  In  due  time  they  will 
move  in  their  normal  spheres  of  beneficent  action, 
wisely  limited  and  regulated  by  sufficient  laws,  for- 
mulated and  vigorously  executed  by  the  wisdom, 
honesty,  and  intelligence  of  the  people.      They  have 


ALL  POWER  IN  THE  PEOPLE 


127 


a  very  important  place  and  function  in  the  nation's 
industrial  and  commercial  life.  Owing  to  the  mar- 
velous quickening  influence  of  inventions  in  our  day, 
they  have  had  a  somewhat  abnormal  growth  and 
development,  influence,  and  power  which  will  soon 
be  checked  and  held  in  proper  limitations. 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  the  absolute  control  of 
these  creatures  of  law  is  directly  and  always  in  the 
hands  of  the  people,  and  that  they  are  at  all  times 
subject  to  the  ballots  of  the  electors.  If  they  break 
the  laws  of  their  incorporation,  do  anything  hostile 
to  the  general  public  welfare,  injure  any  person  in 
his  life,  liberty  or  pursuit  of  happiness,  his  property 
or  personal  rights,  they  forfeit  their  right  to  live,  and 
may  be  executed  by  the  very  legislative  power  which 
gave  them  birth  and  by  the  ballots  of  the  electors 
whom  they  have  injured. 

If  the  monopolies,  corporations,  trusts,  and  com- 
bines have  injured  and  are  plundering  the  people,  as 
undoubtedly  some  of  them  are,  it  is  because  the 
people  and  their  elected  representatives  are  not  cog- 
nizant of  their  rights  and  power,  or  are  too  supreme- 
ly indifferent  to  protect  their  rights  and  exercise  their 
unquestioned  prerogatives. 

In  all  comparatively  new  countries,  and  especially 
m  this  age  of  such  rapid  inter-communication  and 
transportation,  where  time  and  space  are  practically 
annihilated  by  steam,  compressed  air,  and  electricity, 
and  where  the  world  is  the  field  of  operation,  it  is  not 
difficult  to  amass  large  wealth  in  a  comparatively 
short  time  and  to  accomplish  it  on  a  far  less  per  cent 
of  profit  on  the  investment  than  a  quarter  of  a  cen- 
tury ago. 

The    complaint    is    that    a    few,    relatively,    have 


128  REALITY 

become  immensely  rich  while  nine-tenths  of  the 
population,  the  toiling  masses,  are  living  in  abject 
poverty.  This  is  but  a  partial  truth ;  for,  while  few 
have  become  wealthy,  the  great  mass  of  the  people, 
nay,  probably  all,  have  been  greatly  benefited  by  the 
stimulating  of  all  branches  of  industrial  life  and  the 
immense  production  of  wealth  which  these  mighty 
organizations  have  caused.  By  their  opening  new 
sources  of  wealth,  operating  with  the  extremes  of 
this  country  and  with  every  nation  and  people  under 
the  sun,  other  great  branches  of  industry  have  been 
organized  and  encouraged  into  a  large  and  active  life, 
and  profitable  employment  given  to  millions  of  em- 
ployees who  otherwise  must  have  found  little  to  do 
or  remained  in  primitive  idleness. 

Our  country  being  comparatively  new  and  unde- 
veloped, and  having  relatively  little  accumulated 
wealth,  it  became  necessary  to  borrow  from  older 
and  wealthier  countries,  to  obtain  the  vast  amounts 
of  capital  used  in  the  material  development  of  its 
unlimited  resources.  To  obtain  this,  these  corpora- 
tions were  compelled  to  mortgage  their  properties, 
franchises,  and  future  anticipated  profits.  This 
was  usually  done  by  issuing  negotiable  stocks  and 
bonds  that  would  pass  current  in  the  money  markets 
of  the  world.  Often,  and  usually,  their  bonds  had 
to  be  sold  at  a  discount  sufficient  to  tempt  capital  to 
invest  in  them.  To  meet  this  and  other  contingent 
expenses,  more  bonds  than  were  required  for  the 
actual  perfecting  and  conducting  of  the  business 
were  issued;  and  usually,  it  is  but  fair  to  say,  all 
bonds,  stocks,  and  other  forms  of  indebtedness  were 
issued  that  could  be  floated  in  the  market,  thus 
watering  the  stock  and  then  endeavoring  to  make  it 


METHODS  OF  BORROWING  MONEY  129 

pay  large  returns  upon  the  whole  issue ;  while  for 
the  purpose  of  taxation  the  valuation  was  placed  as 
low  as  possible,  and  oftentimes  returned  as  a  non- 
paying  investment,  because  the  earnings  did  not  pro- 
duce a  large  return  on  the  watered  stock  above 
expenses. 

These  bonds  fluctuated  greatly  in  the  money  cen- 
ters, as  these  great  enterprises  were  more  or  less  suc- 
cessful ;  and  created  great  opportunities  for  capitalists 
and  the  wealth  of  the  nations  to  speculate  in  them,  as 
these  enterprises  became  profitable  or  insolvent. 

But,  according  to  the  Dreamer,  only  capitalists, 
plutocrats,  and  multi-millionaires  had  any  money  to 
invest  in  bonds,  stocks,  or  any  other  kind  of  proper- 
ty. The  "  boorish"  farmers,  the  nine-tenths  of  the 
toiling  masses,  having  no  money  to  invest  in  any- 
thing, and  no  interest  whatever  in  financial  invest- 
ments, were  in  no  way  affected  by  the  profits  and  losses 
of  these  speculators  and  money  kings.  According  to 
his  assertion  these  financial  transactions  were  limited 
entirely  to  capitalists,  wealthy  men,  bankers,  and 
brokers,  the  one-tenth  of  the  race. 
,  While  the  toiling  masses  were  not  at  all  affected 
by  these  vast  bond  and  stock  speculations,  they  were 
benefited  beyond  any  possible  computation  in  the  per- 
manent development  of  the  resources  of  the  country. 

And  while  the  great  majority  of  the  builders  of  the 
railroads,  the  telegraphs,  the  telephones,  the  horse 
and  electric  car  lines,  the  waterworks,  and  an  almost 
unlimited  amount  of  permanent  public  improve- 
ments, and  the  men  of  wealth  who  furnished  the 
capital,  are  dead  or  bankrupt,  these  exceedingly  valu- 
able, permanent  improvements  remain  for  the  profit 
and  enjoyment  of  the  people.     Moreover,  the  nine- 


130  REALITY 

tenths  of  the  Dreamer's  pauper  population  had  the 
use  of  these  most  valuable  means  of  transportation 
and  rapid  communication  for  the  sale  of  their  every 
product  at  profitable  rates  in  the  best  markets  of  the 
world,  from  a  cucumber  to  a  blooded  horse,  and  from 
a  quart  of  beans  to  a  hundred  thousand  bushels  of 
wheat  that  the  farmers  raised,  while  they  furnished 
facilities  for  travel  in  palaces  of  luxurious  splendor 
over  land  and  water  at  rates  little  in  excess  of  cur- 
rent expenses  at  home. 

Wealth,  it  must  ever  be  remembered,  is  the  prod- 
uct of  labor  by  some  one,  somewhere,  and  at  some 
time.  It  is  therefore  entitled,  in  justice,  to  the  same 
protection  and  rewards  that  labor  now  claims  for 
itself  in  producing  maintenance,  capital,  and  more 
wealth.  Maintenance,  capital,  and  wealth  do  not 
come  by  prayer,  faith,  or  any  hypnotic  influence. 
Only  by  the  most  persistent  labor,  economy,  wise 
and  prudent  forethought,  prodigious  energy,  and 
favorable  environment  can  it  be  accumulated,  even 
in  this  most  favored  era  of  our  civilization. 

The  Dreamer  asserts  that  a  man  cannot  honestly 
be  worth  a  million  dollars.  Why  not?  It  is  easier 
for  a  man  with  the  same  qualifications  and  capacities 
to  make  ten  thousand  dollars  to-day,  than  for  the 
Mayflower  passengers  on  the  bleak  and  inhospitable 
shores  of  New  England  to  have  made  ten  dollars. 
It  is  easier  for  a  man  to-day  to  make  one  million 
dollars  than  for  a  man  of  the  same  capacity  at  the 
beginning  of  this  century  to  have  made  ten  thou- 
sand dollars.  If  he  was  then  a  merchant,  his  trade 
was  limited  to  his  own  locality.  He  could  turn  the 
products  received  for  his  goods  but  twice  or  three 
times  a  year  into  cash  or  other  goods,  while  the  mer- 


MODERN  INVENTIONS  131 

chant  of  to-day  is  behind  the  times  who  does  not 
turn  his  stock  into  cash  or  goods  a  half  dozen  times 
in  a  month.  If  he  had  a  foreign  trade,  it  took  him 
more  months  than  it  now  takes  days  to  turn  into 
cash  or  goods  his  shipment. 

The  methods  of  doing  business  have  been  so  per- 
fected that  the  farmer  receives  the  cash  for  his  car 
load  of  stock  or  grain  the  moment  it  is  aboard  the 
car,  and  the  merchant  for  his  wares  the  moment  they 
are  placed  on  board  the  steamer. 

Modern  inventions  have  entirely  changed  the  con- 
ditions and  relations  of  every  line  of  business.  The 
dealer  in  any  important  line  of  articles  of  trade  and 
commerce  can  transact  more  business  in  a  day  than 
his  grandfather  could  in  a  month,  and  that  too  grant- 
ing that  the  grandfather  was  much  the  shrewder 
man.  A  great  cattle  king  and  dealer  in  the  meat 
produce  in  Chicago  can,  in  a  few  hours,  ascertain 
what  flocks  and  herds  are  ready  for  sale  the  world 
over;  what  are  the  quotations  in  San  Francisco, 
Honolulu,  London,  Berlin,  Moscow,  Calcutta,  and 
Bombay.  In  a  short  time  he  has  made  his  purchases 
and  sales,  supplying  orders  for  the  Russian  Army,  the 
English  Navy,  the  famine-stricken  sufferers  of  India, 
and  the  Royal  households  of  Japan  and  China.  He 
has  sold  more  of  the  meat  produce  in  a  few  hours 
than  his  grandfather  could  have  sold  in  a  year  in  the 
same  business ;  and  made  more  money,  on  less  than 
half  the  per  cent  of  profit,  than  his  grandfather  could 
have  made  in  ten  years ;  —  all  this  by  virtue  of  modern 
inventions,  which  have  practically  made  the  whole 
world  accessible  and  the  race  one  for  all  business 
purposes.  These  men  have  been  in  business,  some 
of  them,    for  fifteen   or  twenty   years,  and  handled 


132  REALITY 

millions  of  dollars  where  their  ancestors  handled 
ten.  To  say,  then,  that  no  man  can  honestly  be 
worth  a  million  dollars  to-day  is  an  unreasonable 
and  utterly  unsupported  prejudice  against  capital. 
It  is  too  absurd  for  consideration.  It  does  not  fol- 
low by  any  means  that  because  a  man  is  worth  a 
million  dollars  he  is  a  thief  and  stole  it.  The  hypnot- 
ic influence  on  the  Dreamer  was  too  powerful,  at 
this  point  of  the  dream,  and  overcame  his  ordinarily 
shrewd  business  sense.  Or,  perhaps,  there  was  so 
much  in  the  dream  that  he  forgot  just  what  he  did 
dream  on  this  subject.  Either  the  hypnotic  influence 
or  a  slip  of  the  memory  is  the  most  charitable  excuse 
to  offer  the  reader  for  such  an  unwarranted  assertion. 

It  is  a  little  singular  that  while  the  Dreamer  freely 
admits  the  inestimable  value  of  inventions  in  con- 
tributing to  the  joyous,  happy,  healthful,  luxurious 
life  of  the  perfected  humanity  in  the  year  two  thou- 
sand, he  should  so  strenuously  deny  the  utility  of 
most  of  these  same  inventions  at  the  present  time. 
Their  influence  is  to-day  past  all  possible  computa- 
tion in  facilitating  all  kinds  of  trade  and  commerce, 
in  relieving  millions  of  weary  laborers  of  a  vast 
amount  of  manual  labor,  and  affording  much  pleasure 
and  comfort  in  travel,  and  in  a  thousand  ways  not 
conceived  by  the  citizens  of  this  country  fifty  years 
ago. 

He  denies  that  they  have  been  of  any  benefit  to 
the  farmers,  and  yet  a  leading  metropolitan  newspa- 
per says  this  morning:  "  It  is  estimated  that  the  rise 
in  the  price  of  wheat  last  week  put  fifty  millions  of 
dollars  into  the  pockets  of  the  farmers,  while  the 
gain  of  six  weeks  is  about  one  hundred  and  ten  mil- 
lions of  dollars.     It  is  fortunate  for  the  agriculturists 


COMPETITION  133 

that  this  advance  in  wheat  began  before  they  had 
sold  their  crops,  so  most  of  it  comes  direct  to  them 
instead  of  to  the  middlemen."  It  is  noticeable  that 
this  immense  sum  represents  the  rise  in  value  on  but 
one  farm  product  in  a  year,  estimated  for  1897  at 
from  575  millions  to  600  millions  of  bushels,  and  that 
raised  in  but  a  few  States,  and  not  the  leading  farm 
product ;  and  especially  is  it  so,  when  he  asserts  that 
the  farmers  are  not  capitalists  and  belong  to  the  toil- 
ing masses  of  laborers  living  in  abject  poverty. 

COMPETITION. 

It  is  admitted  that  competition  affects  labor  and 
the  toiling  masses  of  the  population  only  indirectly, 
when  it  becomes  so  fierce  in  a  glutted  market  that 
profits  can  be  secured  only  by  reducing  the  wages 
of  the  laborer  and  the  cost  of  production.  If 
this  be  true,  the  toiling  masses  are  but  little  in- 
terested in  this  question,  as  they  are  said  to  care  little 
how  much  capitalists  lose  in  their  contentions  be- 
tween themselves  over  profitable  markets  and  large 
gains. 

But  this  competition  is  of  vast  importance  to  the 
nine-tenths,  as  they  are  by  far  the  greatest  consumers 
and  are  vitally  interested  in  the  prices  of  the  prod- 
ucts they  must  purchase  for  consumption.  That 
competition  does  affect  the  price  of  the  product  for 
the  consumers  is  admitted,  when  the  statement  is 
made  that,  to  save  the  actual  cost  in  production,  at 
times  the  wages  of  the  laborer  must  be  reduced.  This 
reduction  of  the  price  of  all  articles  of  consumption 
largely  offsets,  if  it  does  not  overcome  entirely,  the 
occasional  reduction  of  wages  paid.  For  competition 
tends  constantly  to  reduce  the  price  of  the  product  to 


134  REALITY 

the  consumer  to  the  lowest  possible  cost  of  produc- 
tion, while  the  rate  of  wages  of  the  laborer  is  gen- 
erally reduced  only  as  a  dernier  resort. 

The  Standard  Oil  Company  is  a  good  illustration 
of  the  benefits  of  the  so-called  monopolies  to  the 
people.  When  they  organized,  crude  oils  were  sell- 
ing for  about  double  present  prices.  Now  they  sell 
oils  carefully  refined  and  graded,  to  be  used  on  the 
finest  machinery  and  to  oil  the  axle  of  the  farm 
wagon,  for  less  than  half  the  price  of  the  crude 
oil  when  they  commenced  business. 

The  people  receive  almost  the  entire  benefit  of  this 
corporation's  business.  They  are  reputed  to  have 
made  large  fortunes  from  their  business;  but  their 
profits  undoubtedly  largely  come  from  the  specula- 
tions in  their  stock  and  its  rise  in  the  markets,  caused 
by  wise  management  of  their  business,  the  possession 
and  control  of  great  amounts  of  capital,  and  the 
favorable  conditions  owing  to  inventions  which  give 
them  the  whole  world  for  a  market.  The  mass  of 
toiling  laborers  do  not  purchase  or  speculate  in  their 
stock.  If  any  pay  dear  for  it,  or  lose  by  it,  it  is  the 
capitalist  and  not  the  toiling  masses.  The  public 
hears  of  no  complaint  on  the  part  of  their  employees. 
The  just  inference  is  that  they  are  well  paid  and  are 
satisfied.  They  have  not  a  so-called  monopoly  of 
the  oil  business  granted  them  by  law,  for  the  law 
under  which  they  are  incorporated  and  act  is  a  gen- 
eral one.  Any  other  company  can  organize  and 
prosecute  the  same  business.  In  fact,  several  com- 
panies have  been,  and  are  now,  engaged  in  the  same 
line  of  business. 

But  this  company  has  accomplished  what  the  peo- 
ple so  much  desire, —  furnished  them  a  refined  oil  for 


COMPETITION  BASED  ON  SELF-INTEREST       135 


less  than  one-half  what  they  were  paying  for  the 
crude  article  before  it  commenced  business. 

The  toiling  masses  are  the  ones  especially  bene- 
fited by  this  gain  of  more  than  one-half  of  the  price 
of  oils,  even  while  they  have  no  direct  interest  in 
the  speculations  in  the  stock.  Why,  therefore,  are 
not  these  men  the  people's  benefactors?  , 

Competition  is  the  battlefield,  the  conflict  for  su- 
premacy in  every  line  of  human  effort.  There  is 
much  to  be  said  for  and  against  it.  It  rests  upon  the 
greatest  principle  of  individual  and  organized  life  — 
that  of  self-interest,  or,  in  a  larger  form,  self-pres- 
ervation. It  is,  therefore,  in  some  form  coexistent 
with  the  life  of  the  race.  No  age,  nation,  or  condi- 
tion of  life  has  been  wholly  exempt  from  it.  Theo- 
logians, political  economists,  scientists,  and  statesmen 
have  striven  in  vain  to  destroy  it,  to  find  an  adequate 
substitute  for  it,  or  to  regulate  it  by  law.  It  is  too  pri- 
mal in  its  nature,  too  universal  in  its  application,  and 
too  essential  in  regulating  human  activities  to  be 
ever  entirely  suppressed  or  controlled  by  law  or 
other  forces.  It  is  the  brake  on  the  wheels  of  erratic 
effort,  the  safety  valve  which  regulates  social,  pro- 
fessional, and  commercial  life. 

Based  largely  on  self-interest,  it  has  been  most 
active  and  powerful  where  the  individual  has  been 
mo"st  free  to  act,  and  in  nations  where  the  individual 
influence  in  commercial  life  and  government  polity 
was  most  potent.  It  undoubtedly  produces  inde- 
pendence of  thought  and  self-reliant  action,  quick- 
ens the  perceptions,  develops  the  intellect,  gives 
courage  to  dare  and  strength  to  execute.  These  are 
the  essential  factors  necessary  to  successful  individual 
effort.     Hence  it  is  a  primal  law  of  progress  of  almost 


136  REALITY 

universal  application.  It  has  been  a  very  potent 
factor  in  every  important  civilization  in  the  world's 
history. 

Benjamin  Kidd  informs  us,  in  Social  Evolution, 
p.  34:  "  To  formulate  this  as  the  immutable  law  of 
progress  since  the  beginning  of  life,  has  been  one  of 
the  principal  results  of  the  biological  science  of  the 
century.  It  is  the  message  which  pure  and  abstract 
biological  research  has  sent  to  help  us  with  some  of 
the  commonest  problems  of  human  life."  Mr.  Kidd 
says  again:  "It  is  an  inevitable  law  of  life  among 
the  higher  forms,  that  competition  and  selection  must 
not  only  always  accompany  progress,  but  that  it 
must  prevail  among  every  form  of  life  which  is  not 
actually  retrograding."  Some  theological  writers 
have  designated  it  as  the  law  of  God. 

Palgrave's  Dictionary  of  Political  Econojny  asserts 
that,  "It  is  difficult  even  to  imagine  upon  what 
other  principle  certain  complicated  transactions  of 
modern  trade  and  industry  could  be  regulated.  The 
difficulty  of  finding  an  adequate  substitute  for  it  (the 
motive  of  self-interest)  is  an  almost  invincible  ob- 
stacle in  the  way  of  reconstructing  society  on  any 
but  the  present  individualistic  basis." 

Jevons  says,  in  Scientific  Primer,  Chap.  VII.  : 
"  There  is  no  way  of  deciding  what  is  a  fair  day's 
wages  outside  of  competition;"  and  he  might  have 
added,  that  there  is  no  other  way  of  deciding  what  is 
a  fair  price  for  any  commodity  that  is  for  sale. 
Everything  that  is  for  sale  is  regulated  by  the  law  of 
demand  and  supply  as  to  the  price  to  be  paid,  and 
this  is  fixed  by  the  competition  among  the  purchasers. 

It  has  been  the  rule  of  action  of  all  nations  distin- 
guished for  the  highest  grade  of  civilization  and  com- 


COMPETITION  BENEFICENT  TO  ALL  137 

mercial  effort,  and  by  many  considered  the  chief 
source  of  such  distinguished  preeminence.  It  seems 
to  be  generally  admitted  that  it  exists  and  is  most 
potent  among  the  higher  forms  of  life  and  the  most 
civilized  nations,  if  not  the  actual  cause  of  this  high- 
er life  and  distinguished  civilization.  If  this  be  true, 
it  cannot  be  dispensed  v/ith.  It  is  necessary  to  prog- 
ress and  all  nobler  and  higher  forms  of  life  and  civi- 
lization, and  certainly  in  a  free  government  where  the 
culture  of  the  individual  citizen  determines  the  char- 
acter, duty,  and  destiny  of  the  nation. 

But  perhaps  its  most  beneficent  and  distinguishing 
characteristic  is  its  absolutely  fair  treatment  of  all 
classes  and  lines  of  human  effort.  It  knows  no  dis- 
tinctions of  race,  classes  of  society,  of  wealth,  capital 
or  labor  and  poverty,  no  eras  of  time  or  favored  na- 
tions. All  time  is  its  opportunity  and  the  race  its 
field  of  operation.  Like  the  delicate  scales  in  the 
Egyptian  Book  of  the  Dead  that  weighed  the  merits 
and  demerits  of  the  departing  souls,  it  ever  finds  the 
just  equilibrium  in  the  conflicts  between  the  seller 
and  the  purchaser,  and  always  tends  to  a  proper 
adjustment  and  equalization. 

It  is  more  conspicuous  in  the  higher  forms  of  life 
in  civilized  nations  because  these  always  use  and 
involve  in  their  development  the  energy,  the  enthu- 
siasm, the  intellectual  powers,  and  the  wealth  of  the 
people  in  such  nations.  The  indolent,  unenterpris- 
ing and  unaspiring  have  little  occasion  for  its  use,  for 
there  are  no  prizes  worthy  of  competing  for  among 
these  classes  in  any  community  or  nation.  And  yet 
competition  is  the  friend  of  every  class  that  has  any- 
thing to  buy  or  sell,  and  can  use  its  mediatorial  power 
among  the  poor  and  unlettered  as  well  as  among  the 


138  REALITY 

rich  and  the  cultured.  It  is  the  laborers'  friend,  and 
without  it  their  poverty  would  be  increased.  It  is 
the  ever-active  spirit  of  competition  that  maintains 
the  capital  which  pays  the  wages  of  labor.  It  cheap- 
ens all  commodities  of  consumption  and  insures  the 
highest  wages.  It  exists  among  buyers  and  sellers, 
and  insures  the  best  possible  results  under  the  condi- 
tions of  demand  and  supply  when  the  sale  and  pur- 
chase take  place. 

OPPONENTS  OF  COMPETITION. 

Those  who  are  opposed  to  competition  assert  that, 
while  it  enters  into  the  progress  of  the  world,  it  is 
not  the  only  way  of  making  progress;  that  the  spirit 
of  Altruism  and  self-sacrifice,  organization,  combina- 
tion, and  cooperation  are  all  great  means  of  progress. 
No  one  denies  this,  yet  these  are  not  great  funda- 
mental principles  that  touch  every  human  activity. 
They  claim  that  competition  is  a  brutish  force 
and  patterns  after  the  animal,  while  cooperation 
patterns  after  the  nobler  instincts  of  humanity. 
Competition,  however,  does  not  militate  against  co- 
operation. While  it  may  have  some  influence  in 
furnishing  the  product,  it  enters  the  field  usually  after 
cooperation  has  done  its  work,  made  its  accumulation ; 
simply  aids  it  in  disposing  of  its  products. 

Again,  it  is  claimed  that  competition  does  not  tend 
to  the  survival  of  those  most  fit  to  compete  in  the 
form  of  struggle  in  which  the  competition  takes 
place,  that  the  State  should  protect  its  weakest  citi- 
zens, replace  industrial  competition  by  paternal  co- 
operation, and  set  men  free  to  compete  in  art,  in 
science,  and  in  learning.  Mr.  Bryce  asserts,  in 
American   Commonwealth^    Part  IV.,   Chap.   LXXXI.  : 


NOT  ALL  CAN  BE  EXPERTS  139- 

"  In  no  country  does  one  find  so  many  men  of  emi- 
nent capacity  for  business,  shrewd,  forcible,  daring, 
who  are  so  uninteresting,  so  intellectually  barren, 
outside  of  the  spheres  of  their  business  knowledge." 
It  is  claimed  that  industrial  competition  produces  a 
survival  of  the  industrial  smart  with  little  reference 
to  their  morals. 

The  same  thing  may  be  said  of  competition  in 
art,  in  science,  or  in  any  line  of  special  culture. 
Theologians  who  compete  for  the  prizes  offered  by 
churches  are  proverbially  ignorant  of  business  mat- 
ters, industrial  and  commercial  life.  Musicians  sel- 
dom have  any  considerable  culture  outside  of  the 
instrument  they  play  or  the  limited  lines  of  their 
own  compositions.  This  is  equally  true  of  the 
painter  and  sculptor;  while  the  scientist,  the  teacher, 
and  the  literary  professional  are  the  last  men  one 
would  inquire  of  concerning  business  or  commercial 
life. 

These  objectors  forget  that  life  is  too  short  for 
every  citizen  to  become  an  expert  in  every  line  of 
human  thought  and  activity ;  that  the  state  cannot 
possibly,  even  if  it  would,  make  all  of  its  citizens 
experts  in  every  line  of  human  action.  History  pain- 
fully demonstrates  that  there  is  always  a  certain 
"  submerged  tenth"  who  have  no  aspirations  to  be- 
come experts  in  anything  that  is  noble  and  exalting 
in  character  and  achievement.  They  seem  to  have 
adopted  and  to  be  content  with  the  Chinese  ideal  of 
life, —  to  do  as  little  as  possible,  and  thus  achieve 
perpetual  rest  at  the  expense  of  the  state  and  society. 

The  whole  argument  against  competition  aims  at 
the  destruction  of  individualism,  the  crowning  glory 
and   basis   of   all   modern   civilization  since  Luther's 


140  REALITY 

great  Reformation.  All  progress  seems  to  have 
sprung  from  or  reacted  upon  individual  effort  since 
that  time,  and  this  movement  has  given  birth  and 
support  to  the  altruistic  spirit  that  has  largely  char- 
acterized all  modern  civilization. 

The  Socialistic  Democracy  advocated  in  Equality 
asks  the  Government,  or  the  people  through  the 
Government,  to  support  those  who  cannot  or  will  not 
support  themselves.  The  people  and  the  Govern- 
ment have  and  do  constantly  aid  the  deserving  poor 
and  unfortunate  through  many  channels  of  widespread 
benevolence.  The  staple  argument  is  that  under 
the  Dreamer's  Democratic  Socialism  the  people  would 
be  the  Government  and  work  and  manage  for  them- 
selves, that  every  man  would  then  have  an  oppor- 
tunity to  work.  The  fact  is,  the  people  under  the 
present  rcgiuie  are  the  Government,  and  they  now 
work  and  manage  it ;  nor  does  competition  or  the  Gov- 
ernment hinder  any  man  who  desires  to  work,  but, 
on  the  contrary,  greatly  aids  every  such  laborer,  and 
those  who  cannot  find  work  are  relatively  very  few. 
The  whole  polity  of  a  nation  and  the  primal  laws  of 
commercial  life  cannot  be  changed  for  such  a  minor- 
ity.    In  a  free  country  the  majority  always  must  rule. 

The  great,  all-embracing,  stubborn  fact  still  remains 
that  the  greatest  civilization  the  world  has  ever 
reached  has  been  obtained  under  the  present  system ; 
that  competition,  while  not  a  panacea  for  all  mis- 
management and  failures  in  commerce,  to  say  the 
least,  has  played  an  important  part  in  the  race  cul- 
ture so  far,  and  that  none  of  its  able  opponents  have 
even  suggested  a  certain  and  adequate  substitute 
for  it. 

A  great   primal   principle   cannot   change   lines  of 


LA  WS  MA  Y  REG  ULA  TE  COMPE  TIT  ION  141 

natural  growth.  It  does  not  propose  to  hold  the 
scales  of  equilibrium  between  theologians  and  hod- 
carriers,  musicians  and  farmers,  painters  and  me- 
chanics, who  seldom  come  into  competition  with  each 
other.  But  when  any  of  these  classes,  or  any  others, 
bringtheir  products  into  the  markets, —  whether  they 
be  of  the  muscle,  the  brain,  the  heart,  or  of  the  aes- 
thetic culture, —  competition  is  usually  the  only  influ- 
ence or  power  that  can  compel  the  purchaser  to  pay 
a  fair  price  for  them.  It  has  always  been  there  for 
that  purpose,  and  is  likely  to  remain  as  long  as  there 
is  anything  for  the  race  to  buy  and  sell.  It  may  be 
regulated  and  limited  by  laws  and  international 
treaties  for  limited  periods  of  time  and  certain  prod- 
ucts, but  as  a  general  principle,  taken  in  connection 
with  that  other  eternal  law  of  demand  and  supply, 
no  adequate,  certain  substitute  has  been  afforded  or 
can  be  found  to  take  its  place  in  the  commercial  life  of 
the  people.  The  Dreamer's  illustration,  "  The  Par- 
able of  the  Water  Tank,"  is  at  once  clever,  amusing, 
interesting,  and  sophistical.  This  illustration  is  ex- 
ceedingly deceptive,  in  that  it  omits  and  does  not 
refer  to  the  most  important  factor  or  principle  in 
the  whole  question  or  controversy;  that  is,  to  the 
independent  choice  and  free  will  of  the  laborer.  This 
is  the  all-important  distinction  between  free  and 
slave  labor.  The  slave  was  bound  to  do  his  master's 
will,  obey  implicitly  his  commands,  and  eat  and 
drink  what  was  given  him.  The  free  laborer  is  a 
party  to  the  contract  as  to  the  wages  to  be  paid,  the 
work  to  be  done,  the  conditions  as  to  the  time  to  be 
given,  and  the  manner  in  which  the  labor  is  to  be 
performed.  He  is  not  compelled  to  make  the  con- 
tract.    He  is  free  to  do  so  or  not,  as  his  will  directs. 


142  REALITY 

The  capitalists  built  a  tank  with  their  own  labor,  or 
capital,  which  is  the  product  of  labor.  They  desired 
the  tank  filled  with  water  and  contracted  to  pay  a  pen- 
ny a  bucket  to  those  who  were  to  fill  the  tank.  This, 
it  appears,  was  a  fair  price  for  such  labor,  as  the 
tank,  according  to  the  parable,  was  filled  many  times. 
The  tank  and  the  water  in  it  appear  to  have  belonged 
to  the  capitalists,  to  do  with  as  they  pleased.  There 
was  no  direct  compulsion,  intimidation,  or  threats  on 
their  part.  The  laborers  all  exercising  the  important 
prerogatives  between  free  labor  and  slave  labor,  be- 
tween free  men  and  slaves,  agreed  to,  and  did  often, 
fill  the  tank  for  a  penny  a  bucket,  and  were  paid 
according  to  their  contract.  But  when  they  became 
thirsty  and  desired  water,  they  were  dissatisfied  be- 
cause the  capitalists  demanded  two  pennies  a  bucket, 
that  they  might  have  a  profit.  This  seems  a  pretty 
large  profit  in  these  days  of  close  margins ;  but,  if  the 
water  was  to  be  retailed  a  bucket  at  a  time,  the  ex- 
pense and  time  of  disposing  of  their  product  would 
be  great,  and  probably  leave  the  capitalists  only  fair 
profits  on  their  investments.  Doubtless,  even  in  this 
water-tank  transaction,  these  capitalists  were  acting 
under  the  Golden  Rule  that,  if  these  laborers  had  been 
in  their  places,  they  would  have  accepted  five  or  ten 
pennies  a  bucket  for  water  from  the  tank  if  the  thirst 
was  sufficient  to  command  such  a  price.  Avarice 
exists  among  laborers  as  well  as  among  capitalists. 

Then  again  it  cannot  be  inferred,  as  the  parable 
would  lead  us  to  believe,  that  there  were  no  other 
tanks  of  water  in  existence  to  quench  the  laborers' 
thirst.  Nor  can  it  be  presumed  for  a  moment  that 
these  capitalists  had  tanked  all  the  water  in  that 
whole  country.     These  laborers  were  free  men,  and. 


THE  PARABLE  OF  THE  WATER  TANK"         143 


if  Americans,  intelligent,  thinking  men.  The  ques- 
tion arises  at  once  in  the  reader's  mind,  why  did 
they  not  take  the  pennies  paid  them  for  filling  the 
tank  for  the  capitalists,  and  build  them  a  tank  of 
their  own,  and  then  have  all  the  water  they  desired 
at  all  times?  Or,  why  did  they  not  go  to  the  source 
from  whence  the  capitalists  procured  their  water,  and 
drink  a  full  supply?  Surely  the  capitalists  did  not 
own  all  the  streams,  springs,  rivers,  lakes,  and  the 
clouds  the  world  over;  for  it  is  said  the  rain  falls 
upon  the  just  and  the  unjust. 

If  these  laborers  were  located  where  capital  was 
oppressive  in  its  demands  for  profits,  ordinary  pru- 
dence, wisdom,  economy,  and  forethought  would  have 
led  them  to  cooperate  with  the  pennies  first  earned  by 
filling  the  tank ;  to  build,  and  thereafter  use  and  enjoy 
the  water  stored  in  their  own  tank,  or  sell  it  for 
double  the  cost  of  the  water  to  those  thirsty  about 
them.  It  seems  that  they  preferred  to  trust  the 
capitalists  rather  than  themselves  and  their  fellow- 
craftsmen.  Had  they  their  tank,  they  would  have 
soon  become  capitalists  themselves,  and  in  full  enjoy- 
ment of  all  the  advantages  of  the  profit  system  over 
the  wage  system.  There  was  no  law  in  existence  to 
prevent  this  mentioned  in  the  parable,  nor  to  forbid 
their  moving  to  other  localities  where  the  capitalists 
were  fewer  and  less  avaricious. 

The  parable,  though  very  happily  chosen,  fails  to 
cover  the  whole  question.  For,  at  the  same  time 
and  over  the  whole  field,  capital  seldom  ever  tanks 
the  entire  product  or  controls  the  whole  market. 
The  universal  law  of  demand  and  supply  will  meet 
every  emergency,  though  not  always  to  the  satisfac- 
tion of  all  interested. 


144  REALITY 

AN  ANCIENT  MONOPOLY. 

These  capitalists  referred  to  in  the  tank  transaction 
were  generous  compared  with  Joseph,  one  of  the  great 
and  good  men  in  early  history.  It  is  narrated  of  him 
that  during  the  seven  years  of  plenty  he  purchased, 
with  the  king's  funds,  at  the  current  low  rates,  all  the 
corn  in  Egypt  and  Canaan.  He  then  originated  a  first- 
class  trust  or  monopoly,  backed  by  all  the  capital  of 
the  kingdom  of  Egypt,  until  storage  for  the  immense 
accumulations  of  grain  could  hardly  be  found.  When 
the  seven  years  of  famine  came,  the  most  notable 
panic  and  crisis  in  history,  save  that  in  the  Garden  of 
Eden,  occurred,  when  it  was  ascertained  that  this 
combine  had  cornered  all  the  grain  in  the  kingdom. 

Such  a  transaction  could  not  occur  in  these  days  of 
electric  communication,  but  according  to  the  inspired 
narrative  it  did  occur  in  Egypt  and  Canaan.  The 
over-production,  the  glut  of  the  seven  years  of  plenty, 
had  mysteriously  disappeared.  The  crops  all  failed 
and  the  hungry  people  were  compelled  to  pay  to  this 
royal  combine  panic  prices  for  the  necessities  of  life. 
This  soon  took  all  their  money  and  personal  effects ; 
and,  pressed  by  starvation,  they  eventually  deeded 
their  lands  to  the  combine,  and  the  king  had  all  the 
capital  of  the  country  and  all  the  land. 

And  yet  Joseph  was  a  great,  good,  and  shrewd  busi- 
ness man.  To  the  Dreamer  he  must  be  unquestioned 
authority,  approved  of  God,  a  diviner,  and  a  successful 
interpreter  of  dreams.  The  transaction  is  endorsed 
approvingly  in  the  Sacred  Book.  Verily,  the  trusts, 
the  combines,  and  capitalists  have  some  venerable  and 
respected  authority  for  their  conduct,  even  at  the 
present  time. 

' '  Trade !  is  thy  heart  all  dead  —  all  dead, 
And  hast  thou  nothing  but  a  head  ? ' ' 


VENALITY  IN  OUR  HISTORY  145 

CORPORATIONS  HAVE  ALWAYS  EXISTED. 

To  the  dreamers,  the  pessimists,  and  reformers  the 
present  generation  is  always  demoralized  and  cor- 
rupt. The  past  is  ever  their  golden  age  and  the 
future  is  to  be  the  realization  of  their  hopes.  The 
glamour  of  distance  makes  patriotism  more  noble, 
statesmanship  more  exalted,  and  valor  more  heroic. 
But  they  are  mistaken.  We  do  not  live  in  the  world's 
decrepitude,  nor  is  our  patriotism  and  statesmanship 
inferior  to  that  of  any  age  or  people.  All  that  is 
best  in  history  and  experience  we  cling  to  and  em- 
body in  our  present.  We  are  constantly  resurrect- 
ing from  the  past  all  that  is  worthy  of  immortality, 
and  incorporating  it  into  the  life  of  the  present. 

These  men  affirm  that  the  influence  and  power  of 
our  corporate  wealth  are  injurious  to  and  threaten 
the  life  of  our  nation,  forgetting  that  far  greater  cor- 
porations, practically  without  limitations,  for  centu- 
ries dictated  the  laws  for  Great  Britain  and  threatened 
to  assume  the  powers  of  the  throne  itself.  But 
England  is  stronger  than  ever,  while  the  East  India 
and  Hudson  Bay  Companies  are  only  spent  forces  of 
the  past. 

They  tell  us  our  statesmen  are  but  corrupt  and 
incapable  politicians,  and  that  venality  characterizes 
our  political  action  and  commercial  life,  utterly  for- 
getting the  early  history  of  the  Republic.  John 
Adams  wrote  in  1776  that  the  spirit  of  venality  was 
the  most  dreadful  and  alarming  enemy  America  had, 
and  that  he  was  ashamed  of  the  age  in  which  he 
lived. 

Washington  himself  writes,  in  the  fourth  year  of 
the  Revolution,  that  idleness,  dissipation,  and  extrav- 
agance had  laid  fast  hold  of  most  speculation  and 


146  REALITY 

peculation,  and  an  insatiate  thirst  for  riches  had  got 
the  better  of  every  other  consideration  and  almost 
every  order  of  men. 

The  historian  of  that  era  adds :  ' '  Men  have  plunged 
into  stock  jobbing,  gambling,  and  other  disreputable 
practices ;  counterfeited  the  public  securities,  forged 
official  signatures,  refused  to  pay  their  debts,  and 
fatted  upon  the  common  necessities;  and  love  of 
country  was  declared  to  be  an  illusion." 

Washington  declares  that  the  officers  sent  him 
from  one  of  the  States  "were  not  fit  to  be  shoe- 
blacks. "  In  1 780,  he  said  that  he  had  almost  lost  hope ; 
that  friend  and  foe  seemed  to  combine  to  pull 
down  the  fabric  reared  at  such  an  expense  of  blood, 
time,  and  treasure.  The  best  men  then  no  longer 
went  to  Congress ;  only  fifteen  or  twenty  transacted 
the  business.  John  Adams  said,  in  1777,  "  I  am 
wearied  to  death  by  the  wrangles  of  military  officers, 
high  and  low."  In  1660,  the  vestrymen  of  Virginia 
became  a  close  corporation  and  imposed  taxes  at 
pleasure,  and  the  assemblymen  remained  in  office 
after  their  term  had  expired  and  voted  themselves  a 
salary  of  250  pounds  of  tobacco  a  day,  or  about  $9,00 
per  diem,  which  was  an  enormous  salary  in  those 
days,  and  was  a  greater  salary  grab  than  has  ever 
since  been  practiced. 

In  Burke's  day,  in  spite  of  his  matchless  eloquence, 
the  members  of  the  English  House  were  bought  up 
like  sheep ;  and  the  purchase  of  seats  in  that  body  is 
reported  even  at  the  pfesent  time  a  very  common 
occurrence. 

In  the  sixteenth  century  Lord  Bacon,  the  great 
English  philosopher,  statesman,  and  scholar,  while 
Lord    Chancellor    of    the    British    Government,    had 


VENALITY  ELSEWHERE  147 


twenty-four  cases  of  bribery  and  corruption  charged 
against  him  on  which  he  was  impeached,  though  his 
salary  was  over  $35,000.00  a  year,  and  he  was  wealthy 
besides. 

The  historian  avers  that  Bacon  probably  spoke  the 
truth  when  he  said  that  he  was  the  justest  Chancel- 
lor the  English  Government  had  had  for  years. 

In  view  of  our  own  history  and  that  of  the  race  on 
this  subject,  we  may  safely  adopt  the  sentiment  of 
Longfellow  when  he  says : 

"  Out  of  the  shadow  of  night 
The  world  moves  into  light: 
It  is  daybreak  everywhere." 


MAMMONISM,  ITS  PERILS  AND  ADVAN- 
TAGES 

In  the  progress  of  race  development,  there  is  no 
doubt  that  this  nation  has  reached  and  surpassed 
in  national  development  in  most  leading  lines  all 
other  nations.  Gladstone  says  that  we  have  "  a  nat- 
ural base  for  the  greatest  continuous  empire  ever 
established  by  man. ' '  Our  territory  is  contiguous 
and  unified  by  an  unparalleled  system  of  railroads, 
canals,  rivers,  and  lakes.  The  rivers  and  lakes  have 
an  area  greater  than  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  and 
include  nearly  one-half  of  the  fresh  water  of  the 
globe. 

Aside  from  Alaska,  the  area  of  the  United  States 
is  2,970,000  square  miles,  and  can  support  a  popula- 
tion estimated  at  360,000,000. 

If  all  arable  land  were  brought  under  plow,  it 
would  feed  450,000,000.  According  to  Edward  At- 
kinson's figures,  100,000,000  more  than  at  present 
could  be  sustained  without  increasing  the  area  of  a 
single  farm,  or  adding  one  to  their  number,  by 
merely  bringing  our  product  up  to  the  average  stand- 
ard of  reasonably  good  agriculture, —  and  then  there 
would  remain  for  export  twice  the  quantity  we  now 
send  abroad  to  feed  the  hungry  in  foreign  lands.  If 
these  crops  were  consumed  at  home  they  would  feed 
1,012,000,000. 

The  agricultural  resources  are  but  a  small  part  of 
our   wealth.     The   metal   mined    from    1870  to    1880 


150  REALITY 

amounted  to  $732,000,000.00.  More  than  one-half 
of  the  world's  supply  of  silver  and  gold  comes  from 
American  mines,  while  our  coal  mines  are  practically 
exhaustless.  Iron  is  now  mined  at  least  in  twenty- 
three  States.  According  to  Mulhall's  statistics  our 
nation  was  first  in  manufacturing  in  1880,  and  ex- 
ceeded Great  Britain  by  $650,000,000.00.  From  1870 
to  1880  manufactures  increased  in  France  $230,000,- 
000.00,  those  of  Great  Britain  $580,000,000.00,  and 
those  of  the  United  States  $1,030,000,000.00. 

This  during  that  decade,  and  the  ratio  has  not 
decreased  since  that  time. 

At  the  last  International  Electrical  Exposition  in 
Paris  there  were  five  gold  medals  given  for  the  great- 
est inventions  or  discoveries,  and  all  awarded  to  the 
United  States.  With  the  most  miles  of  the  best  rail- 
road, telegraph,  and  telephone  systems  in  the  world, 
as  Matthew  Arnold  says,  ' '  America  holds  the  future.  * ' 

The  sceptre  of  power  passed  from  Egypt  to  Per- 
sia, from  Persia  to  Greece,  from  Greece  to  Rome, 
from  Rome  to  Great  Britain,  France,  and  Germany, 
and  from  thence  to  America.  As  Bishop  Berkeley 
prophesied,  "Population  has  moved  westward," — 
and  as  De  Tocqueville  said,  "as  if  driven  by  the 
mighty  hand  of  God." 

It  would  seem  impossible  to  account  for  this  fabu- 
lous wealth,  this  unparalleled  development  of  our 
nation  and  country,  save  that  the  Government  and  its 
laws  and  its  whole  polity  have  been  wisely  conceived 
and  most  successfully  administered.  All  of  this  un- 
rivaled civilization,  this  inestimable  accumulation 
of  wealth,  has  been  accomplished  in  a  little  over  a 
century.  Why  will  not  the  same  industry,  integrity, 
character,  and  culture  that  accomplished  these  results 


WESTERN  MOVEMENT  OF  EMPIRE  151 

be  able  to  maintain,  preserve,  and  enjoy  them?  If 
success  and  civilization  are  so  inimical  and  perilous 
to  character  and  the  higher  life  of  the  perfected 
race,  why  ever  preserve  them,  and  why  not  return 
to  savage  life  with  its  environments?  Political  op- 
timism is  said  to  be  one  of  the  vices  of  the  American 
people,  and  there  is  a  belief  among  some  that  "  God 
takes  care  of  children,  fools,  and  the  United  States." 
If  this  be  true,  then  the  nation  is  safe,  or  at  least 
the  agitators  and  reformers.  One  thing  is  true,  and 
that  is  that  the  pessimists  never  in  the  world's  his- 
tory accomplished  anything  worthy  of  mention  com- 
pared with  it.  There  have  been  those  who  at  every 
stage  of  our  nation's  progress  prophesied  its  dissolu- 
tion. Slavery,  States'  Rights,  and  the  Tariff,  each 
in  turn,  was  the  rock  upon  which  the  good  Ship  of 
State  was  to  founder  and  sink;  our  Constitution 
was  a  rope  of  sand,  and  must  give  way  at  the  very 
first  important  test.  Yet  it  withstood  the  severest 
possible  strain,  a  civil  war  the  greatest  in  history, 
and  is  stronger  to-day  than  ever  because  resting  upon 
the  will  of  the  cultured  citizens  of  the  nation.  They 
prophesied  that  immigrants  would  lower  the  char- 
acter and  high  standard  of  citizenship  and  imperil 
the  liberties  of  the  people.  Yet,  with  an  unprece- 
dented immigration  from  almost  every  country  under 
the  sun,  the  nation  has  been  vastly  benefited  thereby 
not  only  in  the  great  national  wealth,  but,  in  the 
main,  in  the  character  and  civilization  wrought  out 
by  these  immigrants.  In  fact,  in  many  sections 
where  these  immigrants  predominate  there  is  as 
much  patriotism,  genuine  love  of  liberty  and  home, 
and  as  great  and  successful  effort  to  attain  a  higher 
civilization,  as  was  manifest  in  the  earlier  decades  of 


lo2  REALITY 

the  Republic.  Some  eleven  millions  of  foreign-born 
subjects  have  come  to  this  country.  So  readily  have 
they  become  assimilated  to  our  laws  and  institutions, 
and  so  cheerfully,  with  but  few  exceptions,  have 
they  supported  our  schools  and  elevating  social 
forces,  that  the  average  standard  of  our  civilization 
and  the  character  of  our  people  is  probably  far  high- 
er to-day  than  at  any  former  period  of  our  national 
life. 

But  our  marvelous  growth  in  national  wealth,  in 
the  wonderful  success  of  our  governmental  polity, 
the  unparalleled  high  average  standard  of  national 
life  and  civilization,  still  leaves  room  for  the  pessi- 
mist and  calamity  hunter. 

In  a  leading  magazine  a  recent  writer  says :  "It 
would  be  easy  for  any  specially  well-informed  person 
to  make  up  a  list  of  one  hundred  persons  averaging 
$25,000,000.00  each,  in  addition  to  ten  averaging 
$100,000,000.00  each.  No  such  list  of  concentrated 
wealth  could  be  given  in  any  other  country  in  the 
world."  This  is  undoubtedly  true,  but  what  of  it? 
Each  one  of  these  wealthy  citizens  has  but  a  single 
vote  in  any  election  or  on  any  jury.  The  patriotism  of 
the  wealthy  in  this  country  has  been  tested  time  and 
again.  Self-interest,  if  there  were  no  love  for  coun- 
try and  nation,  will  ever  make  them  patriotic  as  a 
class.  Moreover,  is  there  any  deadly  virus  in  the 
mere  possession  of  wealth  that  destroys  good  citizen- 
ship, nobleness  of  character,  genuine  Altruism,  and 
philanthropy  ? 

And  yet  not  only  dreamers  but  some  who  think 
they  are  very  wide-awake  solemnly  inform  us  that 
"  Mammonism,  materialism,  luxuriousness,  and  con- 
gestion   of   wealth  will    be    a    constantly    increasing 


TENDENCY  OF  WEALTH  153 

peril  and  the  ultimate  destruction  of  our  civilization 
and  our  nation."  The  question  still  arises,  why- 
should  the  wealthy  desire  to  destroy  the  nation  and 
the  Government  that  gave  them  their  opportunity 
and  in  which  they  accumulated  their  wealth?  It  is 
illogical  and  unnatural  to  burn  the  ship  or  train  that 
has  given  the  safe  passage  over  the  desert  or  ocean 
waste. 

Another  has  said,  "  Accumulated  capital  is  not  a 
slight,  but  an  immense  advantage.  '  To  him  that 
hath  shall  be  given. '  There  will  therefore  be  an 
increasing  tendency  towards  the  centralization  of 
great  wealth  in  corporations  which  will  simply  eat 
up  the  small  manufacturers  and  the  small  dealers.  As 
the  two  classes  of  rich  and  poor  become  more  distinct, 
they  will  become  estranged ;  and  whether  the  rich, 
like  Sydney  Smith,  come  to  regard  poverty  as  in- 
famous —  it  is  quite  certain  that  many  of  the  poor  will 
look  upon  wealth  as  criminal." 

The  answer  to  the  above  and  all  similar  statements 
and  theories  is  that  the  people,  as  a  whole,  are  great- 
ly benefited  by  accumulated  wealth,  and  its  tend- 
ency to  increase  is  not  objectionable  but  desirable. 
Up  to  a  certain  point  it  is  very  desirable  that  it  should 
eat  up  the  small  dealers  and  manufacturers,  for 
thereby  the  goods  are  furnished  to  the  people  at 
lower  rates  above  cost  of  production.  As  to  whether 
the  rich  regard  poverty  as  "  infamous,"  and  the 
poor  look  upon  wealth  as  "  criminal,"  it  can  only 
be  said  that  there  always  has  been  and  always  will 
be,  from  the  nature  of  the  case,  more  or  less  antag- 
onism between  extreme  wealth  and  poverty.  This 
can  be  eliminated  to  a  certain  extent  by  the  character 
and  culture  of  the  parties.     The  agitators  to  the  con- 


154  REALITY 

trary,  there  was  never  less  of  this  feeling  of  antag- 
onism, relatively,  than  to-day.  Furthermore,  the  ex- 
tent and  ability  to  centralize  and  accumulate  wealth 
depends  not  alone  upon  the  wealthy,  but  upon  the 
intelligence  and  the  vigilance  and  desires  of  the  anti- 
capitalistic  vote  of  this  country,  which  is  always 
largely  in  the  majority. 

The  two  great  overshadowing  dark  spots  on  the 
sun  of  our  prosperity  are  superfluity  on  the  one  hand 
and  dire  want  on  the  other.  The  millionaire  and  the 
tramp  are  the  complement  each  of  the  other,  says 
a  writer.  But  what  of  this?  We  have  always  had 
these  parties  in  our  civilization ;  and  certainly  in  the 
world's  history,  at  least  from  the  time  of  Dives  and 
Lazarus,  and  if  the  record  is  true  Lazarus  is  the  most 
to  be  envied.  If  the  statements  of  the  chorus  of 
complainers  be  true,  we  have  more  millionaires  than 
tramps,  which  the  middle  classes  and  those  willing 
to  labor  ought  to  be  thankful  for.  The  great  danger 
feared  seems  now  to  be  from  the  millionaires,  though 
one  writer  says,  "  The  classes  we  have  most  to  fear 
are  the  two  extremes  of  society  —  the  dangerously  rich 
and  the  dangerously  poor,  and  the  former  are  much 
more  to  be  feared  than  the  latter." 

There  is  nothing^  startling  in  this,  no  fresh  and 
newly  discovered  truth.  It  is  as  old  as  time.  The 
rich  are  feared  because  they  have  something  to  work 
with  —  wealth  to  influence  others.  A  man  with 
$1 ,000,000.00  can  at  any  time  hire  100  men  to  aid  him 
in  any  lawful  enterprise,  while  the  tramp  has  no 
money  or  credit  and  stands  in  the  enterprise  as  one 
to  a  hundred.  But  this  has  always  been  so,  and 
sometimes  an  even  worse  condition  obtains ;  for  in- 
stance, that  in  which  one  tramp  who  desires  to  work 


DANGER  FROM  MILLIONAIRES  155 

is  prevented  by  his  fellows.  According  to  the  nar- 
rative referred  to,  it  was  not  so  much  the  spirit  of 
Dives,  for  he  seemed  anxious  at  least  to  save  his 
brethren  from  his  torment  and  suffering,  but  simply 
that  he  had  had  his  good  things,  and  now  Lazarus' 
turn  had  come.  If  we  believe  the  narrative,  eternal 
justice  will  eventually  win,  even  where  the  reform- 
ers fail. 

Dr.  Howard  Crosby,  in  the  North  American  Review, 
says:  "  The  danger  which  threatens  the  uprooting  of 
society,  the  demolition  of  civil  institutions,  the  de- 
struction of  liberty,  and  the  desolation  of  all,  is  that 
which  comes  from  the  rich  and  powerful  classes  in 
the  community." 

It  would  puzzle  Dr.  Crosby,  or  any  one  else,  to 
show  just  how  or  why  the  rich  and  powerful  classes 
in  the  community  are  to  uproot  society,  and  just  what 
motive  they  could  have  for  doing  such  a  suicidal  act. 
Have  they  not  been  most  instrumental  in  making 
society  what  it  is?  This  statement  was  made  some 
twenty  years  ago,  and  yet  society  is  deeper  rooted 
and  firmer  than  ever.  If  he  is  correct  there  should 
be  a  writ  of  insano  inquirendo  issued  at  once,  and  these 
enemies  of  society  speedily  sent  to  the  insane  asylum 
for  life;  or,  better  still,  obtain  a  writ  of  injunction 
from  the  nearest  Federal  Court  and  save  the  expense 
to  the  overtaxed  people  of  a  trial  by  jury.  But, 
further,  why  should  the  * '  rich  and  powerful  classes 
of  the  community  "  threaten  the  demolition  of  civil 
institutions,  the  destruction  of  liberty,  and  the  deso- 
lation of  all,  when  they  have  labored  so  hard  to  build 
up  the  civil  institutions  and  establish  the  liberty  which 
they  are  now  accused  of  threatening  to  overthrow. 
Where  is  the  motive  for  such  conduct?     Samson  had 


156  REALITY 

a  motive  for  pulling  down  the  Temple,  and  was 
willing  to  lose  his  own  life  with  that  of  his  enemies 
and  the  destruction  of  the  Temple  their  money  had 
built.  But  while  capitalists  may  be  very  cold,  ava- 
ricious, heartless,  and  unsympathetic,  even  indifferent 
to  poverty  and  suffering  about  them  at  times,  few  will 
accuse  them  of  the  folly  of  endeavoring  to  destroy  the 
very  institutions  and  national  liberty  by  which  they 
have  accumulated,  possess,  and  enjoy  their  wealth. 
Every  community  knows  very  well  who  the  rich 
and  relatively  rich  are,  but  the  "  powerful  classes" 
must  include  others  when  used  in  this  connection 
by  such  a  scholarly  man  as  Dr.  Howard  Crosby. 
He  means,  and  can  mean,  no  other  than  the  great 
middle  classes  who  form  public  sentiment,  and  by 
their  honest,  enlightened,  patriotic  vote  control  the 
destinies  of  this  Republic.  Where  is  the  proof  that 
they  ever  threaten  or  attempt  to  uproot  society, 
demolish  civil  institutions,  destroy  liberty, or  effect  the 
desolation  of  all,  whatever  that  may  mean?  They 
are  and  have  been  the  makers  and  constant  uphold- 
ers of  those  very  political  institutions,  civil  and  reli- 
gious liberty,  and  all  that  is  grand  and  noble  in  our 
national  Government  and  present  civilization. 

Dr.  Crosby  and  those  who  think  with  him  along 
these  lines, —  whenever  they  desire  to  sustain  these 
civil  institutions,  perpetuate  their  national  liberty, 
or  an}'  of  the  altruistic  and  benevolent  schemes  which 
they  continually  foster,  live  and  prosper  upon,  —  never 
think  of  calling  upon  the  friendly  tramp  for  a  con- 
tribution ;  but  have  the  audacity  to  call  always,  with 
great  regularity  and  promptness,  upon  the  rich  and 
powerful  classes  for  the  money  to  support  them  and 
their  civil  and  benevolent  institutions  and  national 


LA  IVS  OF  DESCENT  1 57 

liberty ;  while  they  publicly  announce  that  these  rich 
and  powerful  classes  live  only  to  threaten  and  even- 
tually to  destroy  these  same  institutions  which  are 
always  largely  supported  by  the  contributions  of  the 
wealthy. 

Another  writer,  in  the  Christian  Union,  October  i6, 
1884,  says:  "  The  great  estates  of  Rome  in  the  time 
of  the  Caesars,  and  of  France  in  the  time  of  the  Bour- 
bons, rivalled  those  of  the  United  States  to-day ;  but 
both  nations  were  on  their  way  to  the  frenzy  of  revo- 
lution, not  in  spite  of  their  wealth,  but  in  some  true 
sense  because  of  it."  This  was  written  fourteen 
years  ago ;  still  our  nation  has  not,  as  yet,  reached 
"  the  frenzy  of  revolution." 

If  this  were  true,  what  of  it?  There  is  no  analogy 
between  the  great  estates  of  bygone  Rome  or  France, 
and  those  in  the  United  States. 

The  environment  in  this  age  is  entirely  different. 
Then,  all  power  was  in  the  Caesars  or  the  Bourbons; 
now,  it  is  in  the  hands  of  the  electors  —  the  people. 
Entirely  different  laws  of  descent  then  prevailed,  and 
for  the  protection  of  accumulated  property.  Wealth 
in  this  country,  as  compared  with  either  of  those  eras, 
is  comparatively  powerless,  because  the  environment 
is  hostile  to  the  perpetuity  of  not  only  its  power,  but 
also  of  its  continued  existence  in  the  same  line  of 
descent.  Here  is  no  feudal  system  for  the  preserva- 
tion of  great  landed  estates,  no  descent  by  primogeni- 
ture, or  entailing  of  estates.  The  effect  is  that  no 
gTeat  estate  is  able  to  hold  itself  intact  for  any  consid- 
erable length  of  time.  Two  or  three  generations 
find  the  estate  dissipated  and  scattered  almost  beyond 
recognition.  This  is  not  only  true  of  great  personal 
property  estates,  but  equally  so  of  great  real  estates. 


158  REALITY 

The  only  estates  in  this  country  of  any  considerable 
importance  that  have  passed  the  second  or  third  gen- 
eration, or  are  comparatively  intact,  are  the  Girard, 
the  Astor,  and  the  Vanderbilt  estates ;  and  it  is  prob- 
ably only  a  question  of  a  few  years,  or  generations 
at  least,  when  they  will  be  so  divided  and  scattered 
as  to  be  of  no  possible  danger  to  the  public  by  virtue 
of  their  concentrated  power. 

The  dissipation  of  great  corporate  wealth  is  even 
'more  rapid.  In  comparing  the  effect  of  accumulated 
wealth  in  this  country  with  other  nations  and  eras, 
it  must  be  remembered  that  the  power  to  control 
wealth,  the  making  of  the  laws  of  the  nation  wherein 
it  exists,  is  always  in  the  majority  of  the  electors, 
who  are  always  anti-capitalistic  and  who  will  not 
submit  to  its  unjust  encroachments  or  dominion. 
Hence  the  possible  peril  of  accumulated  wealth, 
either  real  estate  or  corporate,  is  usually  largely 
over-estimated ;  and  if  it  is  not  always  properly 
checked,  confined,  and  controlled,  it  is  the  fault  of 
the  anti-capitalistic  voters. 

OLD  PRINCIPLES  WITH  NEW  APPLICATION. 

The  struggle  is  the  old  one  of  the  intellectual  and 
moral,  the  ethnological  and  aesthetic,  against  the 
sensual  and  material  in  our  individual  and  national 
life.  While  the  principles  are  the  same  underlying 
this  contest  for  supremacy,  the  arena  is  practically 
unlimited.  The  marshaling  of  the  forces  is,  in  cer- 
tain directions,  new  and  comparatively  untried. 
Among  the  earlier  civilizations  the  kings  and  mon- 
archs  had  resources  which  we  cannot  use  to  engage 
the  attention  of,  and  give  employment  to,  their  restive 
and  anarchistic  subjects.     It  was  an  easy  matter  to 


EMPLOYMENT  OF  THE  RESTLESS  159 

provoke  hostilities  with  some  neighboring  or  foreign 
power,  declare  war,  and  at  once  give  employment  to 
the  ambitious,  the  bloodthirsty,  and  unrestful  among 
their  people.  But  we  are  opposed  to  war  and  favor 
arbitrations  for  settlement  of  domestic  and  foreign 
complications.  In  these  there  is  no  room  for  the 
ambitious,  for  mere  conquest  by  the  warlike  and  the 
restless;  and  though  the  questions  at  issue  may  be 
settled  by  peaceful  arbitration,  the  military  spirit 
remains  unsatisfied,  the  lazy  still  are  out  of  employ- 
ment, and  the  ever  turbulent  spirits  have  found  no 
rest.  The  inventions  of  to-day  render  it  more  diffi- 
cult to  employ  vast  numbers  of  workmen  to  be  en- 
gaged for  long  periods  on  extensive  public  works  at 
satisfactory  wages. 

During  the  period  of  railroad  building  the  surplus 
labor  found  satisfactory  employment.  Since  we  can- 
not indulge  in  foreign  or  domestic  wars  by  virtue  of 
having  accepted  arbitration  as  a  foreign  and  domestic 
policy,  and  having  all  railroads  and  great  public  im- 
provements necessary  for  some  time  to  come,  the  im- 
portant question  is,  how  can  the  laborers  and  the  rest- 
less part  of  the  people  find  satisfactory  employment? 

The  older  nations,  in  their  philosophies  and  meth- 
ods of  life,  moved  much  slower.  There  was  always 
opportunity  for  reflection  and  consideration.  It  is 
changed  now.  The  crisis  is  no  sooner  upon  us  than 
its  wise,  satisfactory,  and  permanent  solutionis  eager- 
ly demanded.  If  it  is  not  instantly  furnished  by  our 
Government  policy  and  officials,  the  Government  is 
vigorously  denounced  as  a  failure,  and  our  civilization 
and  progress  heretofore  counts  for  naught  with  the 
reformer  and  agitator. 

A  great   disturbance   among   the   subjects    of  the 


IGO  REALITY 

Czar,  the  British  Empire,  or  Germany,  is  easily  allayed 
by  engaging  in  war,  removing  a  little  tax  on  some 
favorite  article,  or  extending  the  franchise.  But 
this  nation,  like  a  young  and  inexperienced  mother, 
gave  its  best  gifts  to  its  firstborn  at  the  first  cry  of 
pain  or  dissatisfaction.  Later,  when  the  child  had 
grown  and  demanded  larger  gifts,  the  mother  had 
nothing  with  which  to  meet  the  emergency  and  the 
ever  increasing  demands.  Our  Government  gave  at 
once  all  it  had  to  give  —  absolute  freedom  under  its 
general  beneficent  laws,  and  the  elective  franchise  at 
the  birth  of  the  citizen ;  and  has  nothing  more  to 
offer  to  its  grown-up,  complaining  babies,  who  eager- 
ly accept  the  precious  and  inestimable  heritage,  while 
many  of  them  know  not  how  to  use  or  profit  by  its 
enlarged  liberties  and  protective  prerogatives  for 
limitless  development.  The  evils,  perils,  and  diffi- 
culties that  now  confront  us  are  of  our  own  creation, 
the  direct  and  inevitable  results,  natural  and  logical, 
of  our  boasted  system  of  free  government  of  the 
people,  by  the  people,  and  for  the  people.  God  has 
given  us  the  greatest,  grandest,  contiguous  country 
on  the  map  of  the  world,  and  the  richest  in  productive 
resources.  He  has  blessed  us  beyond  the  prayers, 
aspirations,  most  extravagant  dreams  or  hopes  of 
any  in  its  development,  until  we  are  the  wealthiest 
and  most  cultivated  nation  upon  the  face  of  the 
globe ;  the  best  paid,  housed,  and  fed  people  in  the 
world,  according  to  the  opinion  of  Mr.  Mulhall,  the 
great  English  statistician.  Yet  our  agitators,  reform- 
ers, and  dreamers  say  we  are  living  upon  a  volcano, 
that  the  dynamite  is  already  laid  which  will  annihi- 
late us  at  any  moment. 

The  whole  world  seems  to  have  left  the  destinies 


A  QUALIFIED  ELECTIVE  FRANCHISE  161 

of  the  race  with  us,  and  is  watching  the  solution  of 
the  great  question  whether  man  has  any  self-control ; 
whether  a  community  of  men  —  a  great  nation  —  can 
govern  itself  and  maintain  a  government  resting  upon 
the  free  will,  choice,  and  consent  of  those  governed. 

The  difficult  part  of  the  problem  is  that  the  young, 
the  ignorant,  the  vicious,  and  depraved  among  the 
people  are  always  theoretically  expected  to  act  the 
part  of  the  wise,  the  cultured,  and  the  experienced  in 
all  their  political  relations  and  individual  life.  Our 
system  of  government  is  perfectly  adapted  only  to 
the  wise,  the  moral,  and  the  most  cultured  of  man- 
kind. Upon  these  there  is  always  placed  the  tremen- 
dous burden  of  furnishing  wisdom  for  the  ignorant, 
experience  for  the  young  and  inexperienced,  and 
moral  power  and  right  action  for  the  viciously  in- 
clined, the  depraved,  and  criminal  part  of  the  people. 

Education,  culture,  and  noble  incentives  for  devo- 
tion to  the  country  will  greatly  ameliorate  the  ever 
occurring  unfavorable  conditions,  the  open  disobe- 
dience to  law  on  the  part  of  the  depraved  and  crimi- 
nals in  the  nation.  But  this  burden  is  constant  and 
can  never  be  thrown  aside  for  a  moment.  These 
forces  are  always  of  slow  growth.  It  takes  time  to 
develop  wisdom,  character,  and  experience;  to  make 
full-orbed  men  —  always  a  prime  necessity  in  every 
age  and  nation.  The  world  and  the  reformers,  im- 
patient of  this  necessary  delay,  demand  an  immediate 
solution  of  all  the  great  problems  that  vex  the  na- 
tional life. 

The  dreamers  and  reformers  insist  on  an  ideal  and 
perfect  government  without  furnishing  ideal  subjects 
and  a  perfected  humanity  to  be  controlled  by  it. 
The  great  difficulty  has  been,  and  is,  that  the  elec- 


162  REALITY 

tive  franchise  should  have  been  limited  by  an  educa- 
tional and  property  qualification  at  least.  Such  a 
limitation  would  have  affected  not  so  much  the  theory 
and  freedom  of  the  principles  of  the  Government,  as 
the  application  of  its  principles  in  the  administration 
of  the  political  affairs  of  the  State  and  nation.  It  is 
manifestly  unjust  and  inequitable  that  the  ignorant, 
the  unlettered,  and  those  who  will  not  educate  them- 
selves should  be  permitted  to  vote  and  take  part  in 
the  administration  of  the  laws  of  the  nation,  when 
they  cannot  comprehend  the  fundamental  principles 
of  the  Government  or  the  political  methods  by  which 
it  is  administered.  The  State  of  Connecticut  has 
recently  passed,  by  a  great  majority,  an  amendment 
to  its  constitution  requiring  every  elector  to  be  able 
to  read,  in  English,  the  constitution  of  the  State  and 
nation.  This  is  most  wise  and  opportune  and  should 
be  followed,  as  soon  as  practical,  by  every  State 
where  it  is  possible. 

It  is  equally  inequitable  that  those  who  have  no 
property  should  be  allowed  to  vote  on  propositions  of 
the  taxation,  and  thereby  on  the  control  and  distribu- 
tion of  the  property  of  the  other  citizens. 

From  this  seemingly  unwise  extension  of  the  fran- 
chise has  arisen  much  of  the  difficulty  in  the  govern- 
ment of  the  municipal  corporations.  In  the  larger 
cities  the  indolent,  the  vicious,  the  ignorant,  the 
pauper  and  criminal  classes  congregate.  There  is 
much  in  the  great  cities  to  be  seen,  heard,  and  en- 
joyed without  any  expense,  and  there  is  always  an 
abundance  of  this  class  for  comfortable  companion- 
ship. These  have  but  one  object  in  their  voting, 
and  that  is  for  the  men  or  the  measures  that  will  fur- 
nish the  most  employment  at  the  best  wages. 


ELECTIVE  FRANCHISE  TOO  EXTENDED         163 

The  property  owners  are  thus  frequently  outvoted 
by  a  class  who  have  no  taxes  to  pay  and  no  possible 
interest  in  the  work  to  be  done,  except  to  draw  their 
often  poorly  earned  wages;  and  that,  too,  on  works 
the  taxpayers,  who  pay  the  bills,  would  prefer  not  to 
have  done. 

This  ignorant,  irresponsible  vote  is  easily  organ- 
ized and  seriously  affects  the  whole  body  politic.  It 
often  fills  the  board  of  aldermen  in  the  cities,  the 
legislature  in  the  State,  and  Congress  in  the  National 
Legislature.  It  is  the  pull  and  strength  of  the  ward 
heeler,  the  agitator,  the  curbstone  politician,  the 
speculator  in  votes,  the  corruptionist.  It  is  the 
weakest  part  of  our  Government  in  its  theory,  and 
the  most  unsatisfactory  and  dangerous  in  the  admin- 
istration of  its  laws.  It  is  at  once  the  despair  of  the 
patriot  and  the  philanthropist.  It  is  the  richest  pos- 
sible field,  a  veritable  political  Klondike,  for  the  cor- 
rupt and  unprincipled  politician.  This  vote  is 
extremely  difficult  to  restrict  because  of  its  magni- 
tude and  selfish  interests.  It  cannot  be  induced  to 
vote  away  its  own  power,  nor  does  the  vast  army  of 
selfish,  unpatriotic,  ignorant,  and  corrupt  politicians 
who  live  and  thrive  upon  it  desire  its  numbers  or 
political  influence  curtailed  or  diminished  in  the 
least  degree.  The  only  remedy  for  the  statesman- 
ship of  the  nation  is  to  prohibit  the  further  immigra- 
tion of  this  class  of  subjects,  and  compel  the  educa- 
tion of  those  already  here,  and  their  descendants. 
As  the  average  attendance  in  the  public  schools  is 
only  46  per  cent,  this  will  take  time,  but  will 
eventually  be  successful.  Culture  is  the  most  prac- 
tical solution  of  the  problem. 

Unquestionably  the  Government  in  a  certain  sense, 


164  REALITY 

having  assumed  the  responsibility,  must  care  for  all 
its  subjects,  the  socialists,  the  anarchists,  and  the 
paupers  as  well  as  its  most  distinguished  scholars, 
philosophers,  patriots,  and  law-abiding  citizens.  This 
is  true,  while  only  a  comparatively  small  part  of  its 
subjects  are  always  prepared  to  exercise  their  free 
will  and  choice,  and  vote  intelligently  at  every  elec- 
tion upon  the  ever  varying  problems  submitted  to 
them  under  such  a  free  government. 

Since  the  quantity  of  the  vote  can  hardly  be 
changed,  or  greatly  limited,  it  only  remains  to  affect 
and  change  its  quality.  It  is  not  the  number  of  votes 
that  makes  a  free  government  great  and  strong,  but 
the  culture  and  character  of  the  electors.  Education, 
moral,  intellectual,  and  patriotic,  is  the  only  remedy; 
and  the  wealth  of  the  nation  must  meet  the  enormous 
expense.  The  greatest  necessity  of  the  age  is  cul- 
tured men,  to  vote  and  formulate  public  opinion. 

National  and  even  individual  life  is  not  measured 
by  years,  generations,  or  centuries,  but  by  heart- 
throbs and  actual  experience.  There  is  something 
infinitely  better  than  life,  and  that  is  living.  A 
nation  or  an  individual  is  older  now  —  that  is,  experi- 
ences more  of  all  that  life  can  give  in  a  much  briefer 
period  than  in  the  earlier  civilizations.  Abraham 
Lincoln  and  General  Grant  were  doubtless  older, 
actually  lived  longer,  and  experienced  more  than 
Abraham  or  Methuselah, 

The  citizen  who  insists  on  freedom  of  conscience 
and  a  government  that  has  no  state  religion  or  priest- 
craft to  enforce;  the  believer  in  a  free  trade  or 
tariff  policy  or  direct  taxation  to  support  the  Gov- 
ernment; the  advocate  of  the  great  law  of  demand 
and  supply,  as  the  eternal  pendulum  that  must  regu- 


THE  DUTY  OF  CITIZENS 


165 


late  all  commerce  and  trade ;    the  advocate  of  arbi- 
tration for  the  settlement  of  all  disputed   questions 
of  foreign  or  domestic  policy ;  the  supporters  of  the 
theory,  that  competition  will  fairly  produce  for  the 
consumer  the  commodity  he  needs  at  the  lowest  price, 
consistent  with  reasonable  profits  on  the  capital  in- 
vested    and    fair    satisfactory  returns    to  the  wage- 
earners  who  provide  it:    all  these  classes  of  citizens 
have  made  possible  this  vast  accumulated  wealth  and 
the  centralization  of  it  by  individuals.     They  have 
prepared  the  way  for  the  monopolies,  the  trusts ;  the 
combines  of  the  labor  unions,  the   liquor  interests, 
the    corporate    interests,— the    cotton,    iron,    silver,' 
coal,  and  all  the  innumerable  interests  of  every  possi- 
ble  line    of   commercial,   intellectual,   and   religious 
organizations.       They    have    prepared    the    way    for 
even  the  indolent,  audacious  tramp  combine,  as  well 
as  the  intellectual  zeal  and  aspiration  of  all  educa- 
tional lines,  and  the  throbbing  unrest  that  is  every- 
where apparent. 

These  organizations,  many  of  them  new,  and 
most  of  them  claiming  to  be  original  in  principle 
or  method  of  development,  have  been  made  possible 
and  brought  into  existence  by  our  form  of  free 
government. 

Shall  we  abandon  our  own  offspring  —  our  strength, 
our  firstborn  —  our  Reubens  — the  excellency  of 
our  dignity?  Can  it  be  possible  that  the  eternal 
law,  that  the  creator  is  superior  to  the  created, 
must  be  reversed,  that  as  parents  we  must  submit 
to  the  child  of  our  loins,  and  that  too  while  he  is  in 
his  infancy?  No,  a  thousand  times  no!  Rather  let 
every  American  citizen  at  once  assume  control  of 
these  creations  of  his  power,  the  children  of  his  par- 


166  REALITY 

entage.  Let  him  ever  discharge  his  duty  on  all  occa- 
sions ;  keep  fully  abreast  of  the  ever-changing  senti- 
ment of  the  day ;  be  fully  informed  of  what  is  tran- 
spiring, not  only  in  his  own  vicinity,  but  in  the  State 
and  world  at  large ,  and  discharge  at  every  election 
the  duty  of  every  true  citizen.  If  he  would  save  the 
nation,  let  him  vote  only  for  tried,  exemplary,  and 
successful  men ;  and  the  capacity  of  man  and  a  nation 
to  govern  themselves  will  be  solved  in  America  to 
the  satisfaction  of  the  liberty-loving  world. 

This  is  the  only  solution  of  the  vexed  question  of 
this  era  of  civilized  life  in  this  nation.  If  what  are 
called  the  better  elements  in  social  life  will  meet 
this  emergency,  all  will  be  well.  The  triumph  of  a 
constantly  nobler  civilization  is  absolutely  certain. 
But  this  requires  a  vast  amount  of  effort,  continuous 
labor,  and  expenditure  of  large  sums  of  sanctified 
wealth. 

One  of  the  most  hopeful  signs  of  the  times  is  that 
this  effort  and  wealth  is  always  ready  for  immediate 
use. 

It  must  ever  be  remembered  that  the  best  govern- 
ment on  earth  cannot  exist  without  the  most  vigilant 
care  and  earnest  effort  in  its  support.  Eternal  vigi- 
lance is  the  price  paid  for  liberty  in  this  and  every 
other  country,  and  the  greatest  danger  is  at  this  point. 

"  Similia  similibus  curantur  "  is  as  true  in  politics  as 
in  medicine.  If  the  unpatriotic,  selfish,  avaricious, 
and  mean  citizens  have  formed  combines,  trusts,  and 
monopolies,  then  similar  combinations  must  be 
formed  to  defeat  their  purposes. 

If  capital  combines  to  control  certain  products,  the 
labor  that  produces  those  products  must  combine  to 
meet  it  upon  fair  and  equal  terms.     This  compels  ar- 


CONVENTIONS  AND  ORGANIZATIONS  167 

bitration  and  usually  a  fair  settlement.  All  this,  how- 
ever, is  only  the  great  law  of  demand  and  supply  in 
its  broader  application.  If  a  combine  of  capital  is 
made  for  a  certain  purpose,  this  law  requires  that  an- 
other combine  be  at  once  formed ;  so  that  all  transac- 
tions be  absolutely  upon  an  equitable  basis,  and  that 
all  parties, —  capitalists,  producers,  laborers,  and  con- 
sumers,—  be  permitted  to  share  equally  in  the  profits 
of  the  combine. 

It  will  be  seen  that  all  this  requires  a  very  fine 
play  of  the  intellectual  faculties,  called  executive 
ability.  It  requires  great  mental  acumen,  quick  per- 
ception of  changing  conditions,  -moral  courage  and 
stamina  to  apply  conclusions  at  once.  It  must  have 
great  knowledge  of  men,  their  methods  of  action, 
and  a  temperament  wisely  discerning,  which  will 
promptly  and  discreetly  act,  and  which  becomes  the 
pride  and  distinguishing  characteristic  of  the  Ameri- 
can business  man  and  statesman. 

CONVENTIONS  AND  ORGANIZATIONS. 

One  of  the  distinguishing  features  of  this  era  is 
that  every  human  activity  manifests  itself  through 
combinations.  All  religious,  benevolent,  social,  in- 
dustrial, business,  and  even  scientific  life  have  their 
organizations,  combines,  trusts,  societies,  and  their 
conventions  are  the  wonders  of  the  age.  Club  life  in 
every  direction,  from  the  largest  city  to  the  smallest 
hamlet  and  village,  is  exercising  a  mighty  influence 
in  the  unification  of  thought  and  action  and  the  gen- 
eral uplift  of  the  race.  Every  conceivable  subject  is 
covered  by  its  investigations  and  aspirations.  Com- 
bination and  organization  are  the  sesame  and  watch- 
word of  the  closing  years  of  the  dying  century. 


1G8  REALITY 

In  these  multitudinous  combinations,  why  should 
that  of  wealth  be  specially  destructive  to  the  per- 
petuity of  our  institutions  and  our  national  life  ?  The 
great  mass  of  wealth  in  this  Republic  has  not  been 
inherited  by  its  present  possessors.  Its  accumula- 
tion, in  the  main,  has  been  characterized  by  great 
patience,  industry,  economy,  intellectual  power,  in- 
tegrity, and  mental  acumen.  The  owners  of  this 
wealth  have  been  foremost  in  developing  the  re- 
sources of  the  nation  along  every  line  of  growth  and 
progress.  They  have  been  the  counsellors,  advisers, 
and  supporters  of  all  great  movements  for  improve- 
ment in  material,  educational,  and  beneficent  enter- 
prises. They  are  closely  allied  with,  and  are  the 
largest  supporters  of,  the  foremost  educational  institu- 
tions. They  are  the  upholders  and  generous  bene- 
factors of  the  churches,  of  the  altruistic  and  benevo- 
lent societies  of  this  age.  So  closely  are  they  allied 
in  active  sympath}^  and  practical  effort  with  all  the 
great  primal  forces  of  social,  moral,  intellectual,  and 
scientific  life  of  the  nation,  and  with  the  vast  army 
that  supports  these  interests,  that  it  will  be  impos- 
sible to  combine  them  into  one  opposing  class. 

The  opponents  of  the  present  system  do  not  at  all 
ag-ree  as  to  the  causes  of  the  suffering  and  unrest  now 
prevalent.  If  they  did,  the  remedy  would  be  speed- 
ily applied.  Some  claim  that  it  is  competition  which 
has  reduced  wages.  Some  affirm  that  it  is  the  heart- 
less greed  and  insatiable  avarice  of  wealth  which  has 
obtained  possession  of  all  the  sources  of  production, 
and  by  its  power  and  influence  is  crushing  labor  and 
fattening  upon  its  heart's  blood.  Others  claim  it  is 
free  trade  or  protective  tariff  agitation,  the  interest 
or  profit  paid  on  capital,  or  the  so-called  demonetiza- 


ASSERTIONS  NOT  TRUE  1G9 


tion  of  silver  in  1873  which  has  generated  the  agita- 
tion, suffering,  and  unrest  in  our  land.  Others  even 
insist  that  the  laws  they  assisted  in  making  are  fatal 
to  the  best  interests  of  the  people  when  executed,  or 
that  crime  and  poverty  are  on  the  increase  because 
these  laws  are  not  vigorously  executed.  This  failure 
to  agrree  on  the  chief  causes  of  the  disorder,  and  to 
offer  nothing  better  than  dreamy  theories,  would  cer- 
tainly indicate  that  the  time  has  not  come  for  any 
radical  change  of  governmental  polity  or  industrial 
systems.  When  it  does  come,  the  good  sense  of  the 
majority  of  the  people  will  cheerfully  adopt  any 
changes  that  make  certain  better  conditions. 

In  their  chaotic  bewilderment  these  wiseacres  and 
iconoclastic  apostles  of  unrest  challenge  every  fun- 
damental principle  upon  which  our  modern  civiliza- 
tion is  based,  and  that  too  in  spite  of  its  triumphant 
success. 

The  voice  of  reason,  experience,  tradition,  and  even 
religion  is  no  longer  authoritative.  Time-honored 
maxims,  the  theories  of  political  and  industrial  econ- 
omists, and  the  accumulated  wisdom  and  experience 
of  the  ages,  count  for  naught.  Even  the  origin  and 
destiny  of  the  race  are  questioned  as  never  before. 
All  these  are  summoned  to  appear  and  make  answer 
and  show  cause  for  their  existence  to  the  iconoclastic 
demands  of  the  reformers. 

These  demands  of  disorder  and  anarchistic  unrest 
are  largely  based  upon  the  bare  assumption  that  all 
our  commercial  life  exists  in  base  servitude  to  capital ; 
that  our  intellectual  culture  lives  upon  the  past  and 
is  not  adapted  to  present  emergencies;  that  all  re- 
ligious thought  and  effort  is  hypocritical  and  traitor- 
ous to   the   spirit   of   Christ.     And,  worst   of  all,  in 


170  REALITY 

their  opinion  of  our  marvelous  material  progress,  they 
claim  the  just  rights  of  the  many  are  being  sacrificed 
to  the  unjust  advantage  of  the  few.  All  these  writ- 
ers and  speakers  commence  and  end  with,  "  The  rich 
are  growing  richer  and  the  poor  poorer." 

This  is  their  Alpha  and  Omega.  They  are  certain 
to  please  one  class,  and  that  is  probably  the  class 
they  flatteringly  wish  to  please.  They  assert  that 
the  dependence  of  the  masses  is  increasing;  that  the 
wealth  of  the  land  is  rapidly  being  concentrated  in 
the  hands  of  a  few,  a  relatively  small  class.  They 
joyfully  assert  that  the  good  old  Ship  of  State,  which 
has  weathered  a  thousand  fearful  gales,  is  destined 
to  be  wrecked  in  the  waves  of  a  rising  popular  senti- 
ment that  will  engulf  her  forever. 

If  these  assertions  were  true,  the  sooner  she  sinks 
the  better,  and  the  waves  of  oblivion  close  over  the 
most  hopeful,  favorable,  and  really  successful  effort 
of  man  to  control  himself  through  governmental 
forms  since  the  race  began. 

But  the  assertions  are  not  true.  If  the  rich  grow 
richer  and  the  poor  poorer,  it  is  in  full  accord  with 
the  universal  law  of  growth  and  development.  The 
natural  tendency  of  both  wealth  and  poverty  is  to 
increase.  The  very  capacities  that  produce  wealth 
will  cause  it  to  grow  and  increase.  And  the  forces 
or  incapacities  that  cause  poverty  will  perpetuate  and 
increase  it.  Wealth  must  grow  and  increase,  or  per- 
ish. It  feeds,  lives,  and  continues  potent  by  its  con- 
stant increase.  Poverty  usually  increases  by  the 
absence  of  any  effort  to  change  its  conditions. 

Riches  and  poverty  are  relative  terms.  It  may 
take  time  to  reach  the  possible  accumulations  of 
wealth  under  the  most  "favorable  circumstances,  but 


TIMIDITY  OF  CAPITAL  171 

the  uttermost  limits  of  poverty  are  soon  reached  by 
a  relatively  few  people  in  every  age  and  nation. 
There  are  always  ' '  slums  ' '  and  ' '  a  submerged 
tenth." 

Wealth  and  poverty  are  often  both  nerveless  and 
cowardly  in  active  life.  Poverty  is  usually  devoid 
of  hope,  courage,  and  aspiration,  is  often  satisfied 
with  the  careless,  contented  existence  supported  by 
the  contributions  of  the  charitable,  as  is  clearly 
demonstrated  by  the  professional  tramp  and  gypsy 
wanderers ;  while  the  timidity  of  wealth  has  become 
proverbial.  Nothing  is  more  timid  than  a  million- 
aire except  the  possessor  of  two  millions,  while  the 
plutocrat  and  multi-millionaire  tremble  at  the  beat- 
ing of  their  own  hearts.  We  often  see  the  effects  of 
wealth  while  we  forget  its  laws  of  action.  It  is  said 
to  be  tyrannical  and  oppressive,  but  it  is  the  most 
timid  of  the  great  forces  in  the  universe.  Like  the 
ostrich,  at  the  first  appearance  of  danger,  it  seeks  to 
bury  itself  in  the  earth,  or  retires  from  active  effort 
into  the  safety  vaults  of  strength  and  protection  until 
the  danger  is  past. 

The  last  few  years  abundantly  illustrate  this  fact, 
when  a  threatened  attempt  to  change  the  revenues 
of  the  Government  largely  from  a  protective  tariff  to 
a  free-trade  basis  was  made. 

Intimidated  again  by  the  threatened  change  in 
the  standard  money  by  which  wealth  is  estimated, 
expressed,  and  counted,  it  immediately  sought  safety 
in  retreat  and  protection  in  the  vaults  of  the  cities. 
The  result  was  the  absolute  stagnation  of  all  business, 
and  the  revealing  of  the  poverty  of  the  poor  and  the 
timidity  of  the  wealthy.  This  simply  stopped  the 
full  increase  of  wealth,  but  the  unfortunate  result  of 


172  REALITY 

this  process  was  that  it  often  stopped  the  food  sup- 
ply of  the  poor. 

These  two  causes  are  amply  sufficient  to  account 
for  the  failures  in  commercial  life,  the  unrest  of  the 
people,  and  the  consequent  increased  suffering  among 
all  classes  for  the  past  few  years.  Conditions  are 
now  favorable.  The  revenues  of  the  Government 
are  upon  a  solid  basis  and  the  kind  of  money  to  be 
used  is  settled  at  least  for  a  time. 

The  tireless  voice  of  impending  calamity,  at  least 
on  these  questions,  having  spent  itself  in  its  own  de- 
struction, capital  is  again  seeking  profitable  employ- 
ment. With  such  an  element  of  timidity  in  capital, 
it  is  difficult  to  see  how  it  can  be  a  serious  menace  to 
the  people  in  a  free  government.  As  soon  as  its  en- 
croachments upon  the  supposed  rights  and  interests 
of  the  people  are  felt,  its  opponents  immediately  in- 
form the  masses  of  the  fact.  Its  timidity  then  com- 
pels its  retirement ;  and  the  crisis  and  panic  with  their 
long  train  of  misery  and  financial  disaster  immedi- 
ately following,  sorrow  and  mourning  fill  the  land. 

The  dreamers  and  reformers  charge  capital  with 
being  selfish,  unsympathetic,  unchristian,  and  un- 
patriotic, because  it  does  not,  at  such  times,  relieve 
the  crisis  instead  of  retiring  from  the  field  of  active 
operations.  But  they  forget  that  this  would  be  abso- 
lutely suicidal;  that  it  remains  in  active  operation 
as  long  as  it  can  hold  its  own  or  make  a  fair  increase ; 
and  that  what  is  called  timidity  in  action  is  prescience, 
the  highest  wisdom,  a  necessity  to  its  life  and  its  pres- 
ervation. The  law  of  its  life  and  increase  compels 
it  to  remain  in  active  operation,  as  long  as  possible, 
consistent  with  safety.  It  thus  never  voluntarily 
retires  from  active  effort  along  lines  fully  established 


FROM  AFFLUENCE  TO  POVERTY  173 

by  the  accumulated  experience  of  financial  opera- 
tions. Timidity  is  therefore  a  misnomer  for  the 
increasing  vigilance,  wisdom,  and  financial  skill  mani- 
fested in  its  self-preservation  when  hostile  influences 
and  conditions  prevail.  And  yet  this  extreme  cau- 
tion which  it  at  times  manifests  has  all  the  effect  on 
the  general  public  of  the  too  timid  operator. 

FROM  AFFLUENCE  TO  POVERTY. 

There  is  no  dream  or  hypnotic  influence  about 
this,  but  a  most  solemn,  sad  reality  within  the  experi- 
ence of  a  few  years.  Thousands  not  only  of  the 
wealthy  but  of  the  middle  well-to-do  citizens,  includ- 
ing many  happy  homes,  have  been  reduced  to  the 
ranks  of  absolute  poverty  by  the  process  described, 
and  through  no  special  want  of  wisdom,  foresight,  or 
prudence  of  their  own,  as  the  result  of  the  calamity 
howlers.  These  wiseacres  and  iconoclastic  reformers 
usually  have  little  or  nothing  to  lose  by  creating 
financial  volcanoes,  but  are  ever  hoping  to  gain  some- 
thing from  the  debris  of  former  operators  who  go 
down  in  the  crash. 

The  misery  and  suffering  of  these  unfortunates  is 
much  greater  than  those  who  have  always  lived  in 
ordinary  chronic  poverty.  Only  a  Lucifer,  a  Morning 
Star, —  who  has  tasted  and  experienced  the  supernal 
joys  of  sufficiency,  of  power,  influence,  and  satisfaction 
with  his  position,  attainment,  and  environment, — can 
fully  measure  and  appreciate  their  abject  misery  and 
degradation  in  their  fallen  estate  and  condition.  The 
process  of  reduction  from  affluence  to  poverty  is  the 
most  pitiable  experience  the  race  affords. 

The  man  who  has  honestly  and  fairly  accumulated 
ten  thousand,  one  hundred  thousand,  or  ten  millions 


174  REALITY 

of  dollars  may  righteously  feel  that  he  is  a  useful 
member  of  the  body  politic ;  and  all  honorable  citizens 
and  right-minded  men  will  agree  with  ^him.  That 
he  should  be  honored,  respected,  and  beloved  for  the 
intellectual  acumen,  the  will-power,  the  steady  nerve 
and  courageous  heart  that  has  enabled  him  so  far  to 
surpass  the  vast  majority  of  his  compeers,  is  the  senti- 
ment of  all  good  citizens  in  all  ages.  It  is  not  the 
wealth  that  he  has,  but  the  superior  equipment  and 
exercise  of  those  desirable  forces  and  capacities,  that 
inspires  the  respect  and  admiration  of  his  fellow- 
beings. 

There  is,  however,  a  very  hostile  feeling,  amount- 
ing almost  to  hatred  of  very  wealthy  men,  among 
many  of  our  citizens  who  do  not  reflect  or  compre- 
hend how  great  wealth  may  be  honorably  accumu- 
lated. 

The  men  of  most  brutal  instincts  and  feelings, 
who  in  a  few  hours  show  the  same  powers  in  what 
General  Sherman  declared  to  be  "  hell  on  earth  " — 
the  battlefield, —  are  lauded  by  their  countrymen  as 
demigods,  first-class  patriots,  and  heroes.  But  there 
are  noble  heroes,  patriots,  and  exalted  characters,  as 
worthy  of  the  homage  and  praise  of  their  associates 
in  other  less  conspicuous  walks  of  life  where  the  dead 
and  dying  are  not  the  stepping  stones  to  glory,  as  a 
fortunate  conqueror  on  the  battlefields  of  his  country. 

In  all  this  we  are  not  unmindful  that  there  is  much 
ill-gotten  wealth  that  confers  no  honor  whatever  upon 
its  possessor,  but  forever  consigns  him  to  the  ranks 
of  the  outcasts  of  society.  The  distinction  is  that  the 
great  majority  of  the  wealth  of  the  land  is  in  the 
hands  of  honorable  men.  It  has  been  fairly  and 
equitably  accumulated  by  them;  and  not   unjustly, 


WAYS  OF  ACCUMULATING  WEALTH  175 

unfairly,  and  dishonorably  stolen  from  the  "  general 
fund  by  rascality,"  as  the  Dreamer  asserts. 

Envy  and  jealousy  are  often  the  origin  of  this 
very  general  sentiment  of  hostility  to,  and  hatred  of, 
wealthy  men. 

In  1770,  Arkwright  and  Hargreaves  invented  a  ma- 
chine for  spinning  cotton.  In  twenty  years  the  prod- 
uct of  this  spinning  machine  had  increased  from 
4,500,000  to  37,000,000  pounds  a  year.  The  laborers 
engaged  in  that  occupation  had  doubled.  The  year- 
ly product  had  been  increased  eightfold,  while  the 
cost  of  spinning  per  pound  had  diminished  four-fifths. 

One,  Bakewell,  improved  the  methods  of  breeding 
sheep  and  cattle  to  an  extent  that  in  fifty  years  the 
weight  of  those  fatted  for  the  market  was  increased 
from  400  to  1,200  pounds,  while  the  fleece  of  sheep 
was  increased  fourfold. 

Bessemer  introduced  a  process  for  making  steel 
which  reduced  the  cost  from  $300.00  to  $30.00  a  ton 
in  a  short  period  of  time.  He  received  $5,000,000.00 
in  royalties.  It  has  been  estimated  that  within  forty 
years  his  discovery  saved  the  people  the  minimum 
sum  of  a  thousand  million  dollars. 

Edison  discovered  a  method  by  which  two  messages 
could  be  sent  at  the  same  time  in  opposite  directions 
over  the  same  telegraph  wire.  This  invention  was 
equal  to  the  value  of  one-half  the  cost  of  all  the  tele- 
graph wires  thereafter  used.  The  value  of  this  dis- 
covery was  hundreds  of  thousands,  if  not  millions  of 
dollars. 

Commodore  Vanderbilt  died  leaving  an  estate  val- 
ued at  one  hundred  million  dollars.  He  did  not 
inherit  any  of  it;  but  by  his  great  energy,  courage, 
and  superior  wisdom  in  building  and  managing  rail- 


176  REALITY 

roads  and  steamboat  lines,  in  the  interest  of  a  better 
system  of  transportation  and  of  the  people,  honestly 
accumulated  his  great  wealth. 

These  fortunes  are  not  stolen  from  the  people  nor 
their  rights  infringed  upon ;  but  in  most  such  instances 
the  people  are  vastly  the  ultimate  gainers,  no  matter 
what  amount  of  money  such  inventors  or  capitalists 
may  thereby  accumulate.  It  should  be  observed 
that  the  people  are  free  to  purchase  the  proffered  in- 
ventions or  reject  them.  There  is  no  compulsion  or 
law  compelling  the  purchase,  and  no  price  can  meas- 
ure the  value  of  such  inventions  and  such  great  lead- 
ing lines  of  transportation,  of  commerce,  and  of  pas- 
senger travel. 

W.  H.  Mallock,  of  Great  Britain,  states  that  in  1843 
the  gross  income  of  the  entire  population,  capitalists, 
landlords,  and  laborers,  was  515,000,000  pounds, 
of  which  235,000,000  pounds  went  to  the  laborers. 
Fifty  years  later  the  income  of  the  laboring  class  was 
660,000,000  pounds.  The  laborers  had  increased  27 
per  cent,  while  their  wages  or  income  had  increased 
nearly  200  per  cent.  So  great  had  been  the  increase 
of  business  through  inventions  and  increased  facili- 
ties, that  in  forty  years  the  laboring  classes  were  re- 
ceiving and  dividing  among  themselves  more  money 
than  all  the  people  of  the  Kingdom  received  when 
the  inventions  were  first  used.  This  immense  in- 
crease in  capital  and  its  profits  by  means  of  inven- 
tions, and  thereby  the  development  of  the  world's 
resources,  has  furnished  an  opportunity  for  many 
men  of  keen  perceptions,  good  judgment,  and  coura- 
geous heart  to  accumulate  honestly,  and  with  all  due 
regard  to  the  interests  of  the  people,  great  wealth  in 
brief  periods  of  time. 


INTELLIGENCE  AND  WEALTH  CONTROL         177 

There  is  another  field  in  which  mammoth  fortunes 
have  been  made,  in  which  capital  has  not  always  ren- 
dered an  equivalent  for  the  money  received ;  —  that 
is,  in  municipal  enterprises.  Gas,  electricity,  water- 
works, parks;  street,  elevated,  cable,  and  horse  car 
lines  of  transportation :  many  of  these  have  been 
built  far  in  excess  of  the  actual  demands  of  the  peo- 
ple and  paid  for  at  extravagant  prices.  Many  colos- 
sal fortunes  have  been  accumulated  through  specula- 
tions in  these  enterprises  and  manipulations  of 
municipal  officials,  which  would  not  bear  the  light  of 
an  honest  investigation  or  merit  any  defense.  While 
no  one  will  be  found  to  defend  any  such  ill-gotten 
wealth,  it  still  must  be  said  that  the  citizens  of  the 
municipality  are  guilty  of  gross  carelessness  and 
indolence  for  supinely  allowing  such  plundering  of 
the  treasury  when  it  is  in  their  power  to  prevent  it. 
With  such  a  wonderful  record  as  our  history  presents 
in  the  growth  and  development  of  our  commercial 
resources,  no  better  opportunity  could  have  been 
offered  honestly  to  accumulate  immense  wealth. 

NO  CLASSES  IN  AMERICA. 

There  is  no  such  thing  as  a  wealthy  class  in  our 
nation,  nor  any  such  thing  as  a  laboring  class,  when 
these  terms  are  accurately  used.  In  the  older  civili- 
zations there  are,  by  virtue  of  the  laws  and  fixed 
conditions,  various  classes  of  titled,  governmental, 
wealth,  and  labor  classes.  Wealth  and  certain  titles, 
and  poverty  as  well,  are  hereditary  in  fixed  lines  of 
descent.  There  are  wealthy,  titled,  and  laboring 
classes,  which  remain  fixed  for  generations.  Those 
born  wealthy  remain  so.  Those  born  poor  remain 
in  the  laboring  classes,  nor  can  either   change  their 


17S  REALITY 

civil  and  social  status.  Here  there  are  no  fixed 
classes.  A  man  is  wealthy  to-day,  and  to-morrow  he 
may  be  poor.  A  man  is  a  day  laborer  in  the  morn- 
ing, and  before  night  is  frequently  a  capitalist,  a  man 
of  wealth,  a  millionaire. 

There  is  and  can  be  no  fixed  line  of  demarcation  to 
determine  just  when  a  man  is  wealthy  or  poor.  It 
is  as  movable  and  uncertain  as  that  which  divides 
health  and  sickness  or  indisposition.  Most  of  the 
wealthy  have  to  labor,  to  manage  and  control  their 
Avealth;  while  many  of  the  poor  are  strangers  to 
severe,  hard,  and  protracted  labor. 

It  will  therefore  be  seen  that  there  is  and  can  be 
no  very  great  danger  of  a  combine  of  the  wealthy 
against  the  great  interests  of  national  and  social  life. 

If  any  combination  of  capital  and  anti-capital  forces 
ever  should  occur,  sympathy,  self-interest,  and  self- 
preservation  would  carry  the  intellectual  forces  with 
the  combine  of  wealth ;  and  this  would  soon  settle  the 
question  of  supremacy  in  such  a  contest  for  power 
and  the  control  of  the  nation.  History  records  no 
instance  of  a  great  contest  where  the  wealth  and  intel- 
ligence of  a  nation  were  ever  beaten  in  a  conflict  for 
power  and  supremacy.  With  the  intelligence  to 
ofuide  and  the  wealth  to  furnish  the  material  neces- 
sary  to  support  the  forces  in  the  conflict,  no  combina- 
tion of  other  forces  could  be  found  that  could  defeat  it. 

This  almost  unlimited  accumulated  wealth,  now 
possessed  by  our  nation  and  its  people,  might  be 
threateningly  dangerous  if  it  could  possibly  be  con- 
centrated and  controlled  by  a  few  persons  or  corpora- 
tions. But  this  is  impossible  under  the  laws  of  the 
land  and  the  fact  that  the  anti-capitalistic  vote 
always  controls  its    accumulation  and   distribution. 


ABUNDANT  WEALTH  IS  BENEFICIAL  179 


Wealth  is  so  scattered  in  the  hands  of  millions  of 
people  all  over  the  country,  and  exists  in  all  kinds 
of  property,  real  estate  and  personal,  that  any  emer- 
gency could  hardly  be  conceived  that  would  cause 
its  concentrated  use  against  the  nation.  The  inter- 
ests of  its  possessors  are  so  infinitely  divided  and 
along  so  many  lines  of  human  activity,  that  no  event 
save  revolution  —  the  threatened  triumph  of  Social 
Democracy  or  Anarchy  —  could  furnish  a  motive  for  its 
combination.  Any  combination  against  Social  De- 
mocracy or  Anarchy  would  always  be  a  patriotic  duty, 
to  which  wealth  and  all  patriotism  would  instantly 
respond  in  the  interests  of  all  the  people  and  the 
nation. 

These  vast  accumulations  of  wealth  are  exceedino-- 
ly  beneficial,  as  they  tend  constantly  to  render  the 
people  and  our  nation  independent,  financially,  of  all 
foreign  powers.  It  constantly  reduces  the  rate  of 
interest  and  furnishes  sufficient  money  among  the 
people  for  developing  all  the  resources  of  the  country. 
It  benefits  all  methods  and  lines  of  communication, 
travel,  and  interchange  of  products  among  all  classes 
of  people  and  all  parts  of  the  country.  It  makes  pos- 
sible the  building  of  homes  for  the  people  at  lowest 
cost  price,  thus  reducing  rents  and  the  price  of  liv- 
ing. It  makes  low  rates  of  interest;  and  an  abun- 
dance of  capital  enlarges  our  capacities  to  manufac- 
ture at  competing  rates  with  other  nations,  who  have 
had  heretofore  an  abundance  of  capital  at  lower  rates 
of  interest  than  could  be  obtained  in  our  younger 
national  life.  These  lower  rates  of  interest  and 
abundance  of  capital  in  foreign  countries  have  been 
potent  factors,  heretofore,  against  American  manu- 
facturers and  in  favor  of  foreign  nations.     A  recent 


180  REALITY 

financial  writer  says:  "  If  American  manufacturers 
could  secure  as  low  rates  of  interest  as  is  paid  by 
their  British  competitors,  a  very  large  part  of  the 
$200,000,000  of  raw  cotton  annually  exported  to  Brit- 
ish mills  could  be  manufactured  in  the  United  States, 
to  the  great  benefit  of  American  labor  and  investors 
in  mill  enterprises.  More  than  this,  the  Americans 
would  have  a  better  chance  at  the  markets  of  Central 
and  South  America  for  their  cotton  goods,  markets 
that  belong  to  them  naturally,  but  which  are  mainly 
absorbed  by  the  Germans  and  British." 

An  abundance  of  wealth,  and  low  rates  of  interest 
that  necessarily  follow,  mean  always  more  abundant 
production  and  lower  prices  for  all  luxuries,  and 
especially  for  all  the  necessities  of  life  which  the  peo- 
ple must  have.  It  ever  means  much  better  living  at 
the  lowest  possible  cost  of  production.  It  means  bet- 
ter public  school  privileges;  colleges,  universities, 
academies  of  art  and  science,  and  most  liberal  oppor- 
tunities for  the  education  of  all ;  more  money  for  all 
benevolent  institutions;  hospitals  and  sanitariums 
for  the  suffering  and  unfortunate ;  more  musical  in- 
struments and  time  to  enjoy  their  music ;  and  better 
social  advantages  in  every  department  of  life.  It 
means  leisure  from  pressing  toil,  time  for  study, 
reflection,  and  investigation  of  great  principles  and 
questions  of  commerce,  science,  and  art.  It  brings 
comfort,  rest,  and  repose,  so  essential  to  happiness  in 
this  life,  and  now  almost  unknown. 

This  affects  most  potently  the  middle  and  poorer 
classes  of  the  people,  and  is  of  inestimable  benefit  to 
them.  The  more  abundant  the  wealth,  the  more  it 
will  be  disseminated,  and  the  less  danger  of  perilous 
combinations. 


PREROGATIVES  OF  WEALTH  181 


How,  then,  from  any  fair,  equitable,  and  just  view 
of  the  case,  can  the  accumulated  wealth  of  the  coun- 
try seriously  threaten  its  institutions,  its  liberty  and 
perpetuity?     Why  not  charge  the  unrest  of  the  age 
to  the  confessed  and  obvious  partial  failure  of  our 
educational  and  religious  institutions,  whose  especial 
function  it  is  to  discover  and  point  out  the  most  suc- 
cessful methods  of  true  progress  and  growth,  individ- 
ual  and   national,  and  that  rest  and  repose  for  the 
present  and  future  that  religion   ought  to  furnish? 
Or    challenge   the   vicious  part  of  the   press   which 
daily  and  hourly  parades  every  crime  and  the  most 
approved  methods  for  successful  criminal  action,  and 
the  travel  and  communication  with  the  ends  of  the 
earth  by  electric  flashes,  which  doubtless  contribute 
more    to   the    feverish    discontent    and   unrest    that 
characterize  this  age  than  any  other  force  or  influ- 
ence? 

Conscious  of  their  weakness  and  failures,  these 
three  most  potent  factors  in  race  progress  seek  to 
shield  themselves  from  the  wrath  and  demands  of  an 
irritable  and  suffering  people.  They  join  most  lusti- 
ly in  the  cry  of  "  Stop  thief!  "  and,  in  accordance 
with  the  popular  fad  of  the  day,  selfishly  and  irra- 
tionally charge  the  crimes  and  failures  of  the  world 
and  the  age  to  wealth,  when  it  is  undoubtedly  the 
most  innocent  of  any  of  the  great  powers  of  civilized 
life. 

It  is  not  the  province  of  wealth  to  originate  and 
formulate  the  best  methods  of  individual  and  national 
growth  and  development,  by  which  the  highest  and 
most  desirable  civilization  must  be  reached.  Its  pre- 
rogative is  simply  to  furnish  the  means  to  execute 
and  carry  into  successful   operation  these  methods. 


182  REALITY 

It  is,  howevei:,  the  imperative  duty  of  the  statesman- 
ship, the  scholarship,  the  religious  teaching,  the 
public  press  of  the  age  to  originate  and  formulate  the 
best  possible  methods  to  meet  and  satisfy  the  ever- 
increasing  demands  of  the  people  for  obtaining  the 
highest  possible  civilization  in  individual  and  national 
life.  Wealth  has  never  been  slow  or  parsimonious 
in  adopting  and  supporting  any  plausible  methods 
for  race  elevation. 

It  is  safe  to  predict  that  in  the  future,  in  this  re- 
spect, its  past  will  be  fully  sustained. 

It  is  as  necessary  to  noble,  progressive  living,  high 
intellectual  and  moral  development,  as  the  sun  is  to 
warm  and  fructify  the  earth.  It  has  to  do  with  these 
infinitely  more  than  with  mere  material  development 
of  national  resources,  and  must  be  considered  an 
absolute  necessity  to  the  greatest  individual  and  race 
culture  and  attainment.  Wealth  is  an  unspeakable 
blessing  to  any  nation  and  people  who  are  so  fortu- 
nate as  to  possess  it  in  unlimited  abundance. 


THE  MASTERS  OF  BREAD 

In  Equality,  it  would  seem,  the  cruel,  despotic, 
tyrannical  power  of  wealth  cannot  be  expressed  in 
ordinary  language,  and  the  Dreamer  invents  terms 
to  meet  the  supposed  occasion.  Capitalists  and  men 
of  wealth  are  too  tame  expressions.  While  the  great 
Revolution  commenced  in  1873,  a  quarter  of  a 
century  since,  yet  the  terms  used  and  the  conditions 
described  should  in  the  due  course  of  time  have  been 
understood  before  1873.  He  says,  in  one  of  the  most 
graphic,  thrilling,  vivid,  and  yet  most  untruthful 
pictures  in  the  book:  "  Everywhere  men,  women, 
and  children  stood  in  the  market-place  crying  to  the 
'  Masters  of  Bread  '  to  take  them  to  be  their  servants, 
that  they  might  have  bread.  The  strong  men  said : 
'  O  Lords  of  the  Bread,  feel  our  thews  and  sinews, 
our  arms  and  our  legs.  See  how  strong  we  are. 
Take  us  and  use  us.  Let  us  dig  for  you.  Let  us 
hew  for  you.  Let  us  go  down  in  the  mine  and  delve 
for  you.  Let  us  freeze  and  starve  in  the  forecastles 
of  your  ships.  Send  us  into  the  hulls  of  your  steam- 
ship stokeholes.  Do  what  you  will  with  us,  but  let 
us  serve  you,  that  we  may  eat  and  not  die !  ' 

"  Then  spoke  up  also  the  learned  men,  the  scribes 
and  the  lawyers,  whose  strength  was  in  their  brains 
and  not  in  their  bodies:  '  O  Masters  of  the  Bread,' 
they  said,  '  take  us  to  be  your  servants  and  to  do  your 
will.  See  how  fine  is  our  wit,  how  great  our  knowl- 
edge.     .     .     .     Masters  of  Bread,  give  us  to  eat,  and 


184  REALITY 

we  will  betray  the  people  to  you,  for  we  must  live. 
We  will  plead  for  you  in  the  courts  against  the  widow 
and  the  fatherless.  We  will  speak  and  write  your 
praise.' 

"  The  priests  and  Levites  also  cried  out:  *  Take 
us,  masters,  to  be  your  servants  and  to  do  your  will, 
for  we  also  must  eat,  and  you  only  have  the  bread. 
We  are  the  guardians  of  the  sacred  oracles,  and  the 
people  hearken  unto  us  and  reply  not,  for  our  voice 
to  them  is  as  the  voice  of  God.  But  we  must  have 
bread  to  eat  like  others.  ...  In  the  name  of 
God  the  Father  will  we  forbid  them  to  claim  the 
rights  of  brothers,  and  in  the  name  of  the  Prince  of 
Peace  will  we  preach  your  law  of  competition.' 

"  And  above  all  the  clamor  of  the  men  were  heard 
the  voices  of  a  multitude  of  women:  '  Pass  us  not 
by,  for  we  must  also  eat.  ...  If  you  will  not 
take  us  for  our  labor's  sake,  yet  look  upon  us;  we 
are  women,  and  should  be  fair  in  your  eyes.  Take 
us  and  do  with  us  according  to  your  pleasure,  for  we 
must  eat.'  " 

And  even  the  children  cried  out  in  supplicating 
tones  to  the  Masters  of  Bread,  who  took  for  their  use 
or  pleasure  such  of  the  men,  women,  and  children  as 
they  saw  fit ;  "and  there  was  left  a  great  multitude  in 
the  market-place  for  whom  there  was  no  bread."  He 
further  describes  the  above  as  "  the  last  refinement 
of  indignity  put  upon  human  nature  by  your  eco- 
nomic sj^stem."  And  further  he  describes,  in  graphic 
language,  what  we  were  coming  to  —  had  not  the  Rev- 
olution come  —  whereby  a  few  persons,  comparative- 
ly, would  become  sole  owners  of  the  land  and  machin- 
ery of  the  nation,  hold  the  people  absolutely  in  their 
power,    and    compel    them    to   do   as  they   desired. 


THE  TOUCHING  PICTURE  185 


World-conquest  by  a  few  individuals   was  like  to  be 
realized  by  economic  means. 

This  most  highly-colored,  hypnotic,  and  imagina- 
tive gathering  of  men,  women,  and  children  must 
have  occurred  in  the  early  part  of  the  Revolution  and 
the  great  transition  period,  and  before  the  present 
year;  for  it  was  the  immense  misery  and  unbearable 
suffering  of  all  the  amazingly  patient  people  that 
stirred  up  the  mighty  waves  of  altruistic,  brotherly 
love,  and  rolled  them  onward  with  irresistible  power 
until  the  final  climax,  when  all  embraced  and  with 
an  "all  hands  around"  in  this  mazy  dance  swept 
the  race  into  the  perfected  humanity  of  the  year  two 
thousand  Anno  Domini.  It  must  therefore  have  oc- 
curred within  the  memory  of  the  present  generation. 
For,  have  we  not  been  definitely  informed  in  the 
century  dream  that  at  the  last  election  —  that  of  1 896 
—  a  large  political  party  endorsed  the  platform  of  a 
prior  political  party,  which  had  in  its  plank  their  be- 
lief that  the  nation  should  own  and  operate  all  the 
interstate  corporations,  the  railroads,  the  telegraphs, 
the  telephones,  and  the  mines?  That  only  one  more 
election — that  of  1900  —  would  be  necessary  to  give 
the  advocates  of  this  planked  belief  the  political  su- 
premacy? That  then,  legally  and  without  any  remu- 
neration to  those  who  had  built  these  railroads,  tele- 
graphs, and  telephones  and  developed  and  worked 
these  mines,  the  nation  would  be  prepared  officially  to 
perfect  under  the  guise  of  law  the  most  stupendous 
theft  in  all  history?  That,  through  an  anarchistic 
and  utterly  debauched  political  power,  this  theft  was 
to  be  achieved?  That,  what  no  military  force  on  earth 
ever  attempted  or  could  accomplish,  what  no  com- 
petitive or  economical  system  could  ever  hope  to  at- 


186  REALITY 

tain,  would  thus  be  accomplished  within  the  next 
three  years? 

This  wonderful  gathering  was  not  local  and  com- 
posed of  a  few  disgruntled  sufferers  of  the  pauper, 
laboring,  and  farmer  classes  —  the  toiling  masses  — 
but  embraced  men,  women,  and  children.  It  was 
composed  of  the  strong  men  of  developed  thews  and 
sinews;  the  learned  men,  scribes,  lawyers,  men  of  fine 
wit  and  great  knowledge ;  the  priests  and  Levites,  the 
guardians  of  the  sacred  oracles,  the  voice  of  God  to 
the  people,  to  which  they  never  reply;  and  the 
lovely  fair  women,  who  called  attention  to  the  fact 
that  they  were  women  and  should  be  fair  to  behold, 
who  begged  to  serve  in  any  capacity  or  minister  to 
the  pleasure  of  their  cruel,  unsympathetic,  and  utter- 
ly unprincipled  rulers. 

The  gathering  was  universal,  as  it  included  all 
classes,  and  every  community  had  its  market-place. 
What  a  mighty  host,  gathered  the  world  over,  and 
with  one  purpose,  the  wailing  cry  and  insatiate  desire 
for  bread,  "  for  we  must  eat  or  die."  The  records  of 
earth  or  heaven  or  deepest  hell  never  furnished  such 
an  assembly,  and  for  such  a  purpose.  Neither  the 
battle  in  heaven,  when  one-third  of  its  angelic  sons 
were  forever  banished  into  everlasting  night  and 
misery,  nor  the  most  terrible  anguish,  death,  and  de- 
struction on  the  battlefields  of  the  world,  ever  fur- 
nished such  a  woeful  spectacle  as  these  innumerable 
and  world-wide  bread  beggars. 

The  joyous  in  heaven  must  have  wept,  and  the  tri- 
umphant tone  of  the  everlasting  song  ceased  its  rap- 
turous strains,  while  the  glorified  harps  and  the  in- 
struments of  the  grand  chorus  of  eternal  praise  were 
dumb  at  the  spectacle.     How  could  there  be  happi- 


NEW  NAMES  INVENTED  187 

ness  and  joy  in  heaven  when  the  same  loving  Father 
permitted  such  misery  and  weeping  among  the  whole 
people  on  earth  ?  Better  a  thousand  times  order  an- 
other deluge,  and  at  least  sweep  all  the  capitalists 
and  men  of  wealth  from  the  face  of  the  earth,  and 
let  the  waves  and  not  the  products  of  earth  compete 
with  each  other  in  their  utter  destruction.  This 
meeting  was  too  unique  and  remarkable  to  be  re- 
ported in  the  ordinary  language,  and  the  capitalists 
are  given  a  new  name,  "  The  Masters  of  Bread," 
"  The  Lords  of  Bread."  These  new-coined  epithets 
lend  an  exquisite  tinge  and  coloring  to  the  mournful 
picture,  most  powerfully  appealing  to  every  person, 
when  they  think  that  every  market-place  the  world 
over  is  filled  with  starving  men,  women,  and  innocent 
children.  So  mighty  and  omnipotent  were  the 
"  Masters  of  Bread"  and  these  "  Lords  of  Bread," 
that  the  muscular  athletes,  the  brawny  men  of  the 
shops,  the  mines,  and  the  soil,  the  iron  workers,  the 
men  of  the  diamond  field,  the  powerful  pigskin  kick- 
ers, the  boat  and  yacht  racers,  the  pugilistic  cham- 
pions of  the  ring,  were  all  enthusiastically  anxious  to 
dig  in  the  mines,  to  freeze  and  starve  in  the  hulls  of 
ships  and  roast  in  stokeholes. 

If  these  brawny  men  of  developed  thews  and  sin- 
ews were  so  hungry  for  bread,  why  did  they  not  take 
it  and  satisfy  their  hunger?  For  physically  they  were 
abundantly  able  to  do  so;  and  w^e  know  at  this  era  the 
land  was  full  of  wheat,  dough,  and  unleavened  bread, 
sufficient  to  satisfy  all  the  hungry  stomachs  in  every 
market-place  in  the  world  ;  and  that  the  "  Masters  of 
Bread  "  and  the  "  Lords  of  Bread  "  did  not  have,  nor 
ever  did  have,  any  power  to  keep  them  from  satisfy- 
ing this  supposed  hunger.     An  injunction  could  have 


188  REALITY 

been  easily  obtained  from  any  Federal  or  State  court, 
on  the  ground  of  public  policy,  prohibiting  these 
' '  Lords  of  the  Bread  "  from  locking  up  the  staff  of  life 
from  this  starving  multitude.  No  court  would  dare  to 
refuse  such  a  demand  from  all  classes  of  the  people 
assembled  in  every  market-place  of  the  nation.  Or, 
if  they  were  so  anxious  to  die  that  they  were  willing 
to  freeze  or  starve  in  the  hulls  and  roast  in  the  stoke- 
holes of  the  ships,  why  not  nobly  perish  and  give  up 
the  ghost  in  the  market-places,  in  the  presence  of 
their  suffering  companions?  Doubtless  this  would 
have  cast  a  halo  of  glory  over  their  miserable  exit, 
and  afforded  much  pleasure  to  their  unfeeling,  om- 
nipotent, despotic  masters,  the  lords  of  wheat,  dough, 
and  baked  bread. 

Unfortunately  for  the  artist  who  painted  this  strik- 
ing and  wonderful  picture,  and  fortunately  for  those 
who  are  invited  to  gaze  upon  it,  it  purports  to  de- 
scribe an  assemblage  of  our  own  day  and  times;  and 
he  audaciously  asks  the  people  of  this  day  to  believe 
in  what  it  attempts  to  portray  as  a  literal  experience. 

THE  LAWYERS. 

The  wit  and  wisdom  of  the  lawyers  and  the  scribes, 
whoever  they  may  be,  are  called  upon,  as  is  the  cus- 
tom, to  grace  the  assembly.  They  are  represented 
as  piteously  begging  of  these  ' '  Masters  of  Bread 
and  "  Lords  of  Bread  "  for  a  few  crumbs  of  the  loaves 
they  have  usually  been  credited  with  making  and 
baking.  They  must  certainly  have  lost  their  wits 
and  forgotten  their  wisdom,  and  it  is  supreme  folly 
in  the  artist  to  credit  this  to  them  in  his  picture. 
For  in  every  age  the  capitalists  have  been  compelled 
to  employ  the  wit,  follow  and  pay  for  the  wisdom  of 


PRIESTS  AL  WA  YS  PRO  VIDEO  FOR  189 


the  lawyers,  in  all  the  production,  accumulation,  and 
the  baking  of  this  universal  necessity  —  bread.  We 
know  from  actual  experience,  and  careful  and  ex- 
tended observation  that,  during  this  era,  the  lawyers 
did  not  lose  their  wits  or  fail  in  their  wisdom.  They 
were  never  more  prosperous  and  successful.  It  has 
ever  been  a  primal  axiom  of  the  profession,  when 
they  have  aided  the  "  Lords  of  Bread"  and  "  Mas- 
ters of  Bread  "  to  prepare  and  bake  their  bread, —  and 
there  are  few  loaves  prepared  and  baked  without 
their  aid, —  to  first  satisfy  their  own  hunger  beyond 
future  want  from  each  loaf  before  it  is  delivered  to 
the  Masters  and  Lords  of  the  loaves. 

We  never  heard  of  but  two  lawyers  who  perished 
for  want  of  bread.  One  was  in  Maine  and  the  other 
in  New  York  City.  Misfortune  and  sickness  over- 
cam.e  them ;  they  were  too  proud  to  beg  for  bread ; 
and  as  a  noble  and  generous  community  knew  not  of 
their  necessities,  they  were  reported  as  having  per- 
ished from  starvation.  It  is,  therefore,  safe  to  say 
that  there  were  no  lawyers  in  this  miserable,  univer- 
sal assembly  in  all  the  market-places  of  the  world, 
joining  in  that  supposed  mighty  wail  for  bread  or 
death.  If  there  had  been,  relief  would  have  come  at 
once  through  their  fine  wit,  great  knowledge,  and 
profound  wisdom. 

THE  PRIESTS  AND  LEVITES. 

As  to  the  priests  and  Levites, —  the  guardians  of  the 
sacred  oracles,  the  voice  of  God,  to  whom  the  people 
listened  and  dared  not  reply,  who  promised  in  the 
name  of  the  Father  to  forbid  the  people  to  claim  the 
rights  of  brothers,  and  in  the  name  of  the  Prince  of 
Peace  to  preach  competition, —  it  is  barely  possible 


190  REALITY 

that,  having  exhausted  every  effort  toward  a  spirit- 
ual, Christian,  and  moral  manhood  upon  the  "  Mas- 
ters and  the  Lords  of  the  Bread,"  they  had  been 
deserted  by  them ;  and  were,  at  least  some  of  them, 
found  in  that  assembly  bewailing  their  fate  and  actu- 
ally crying  for  bread.  We  read  from  the  text-book 
of  the  priests  of  this  era  something  about  casting 
pearls  before  swine,  and  being  rent  therefor.  Per- 
haps this  was  such  an  occasion.  At  any  rate,  if  they 
really  preached  these  infamous  doctrines  the  artist 
charges  them  with,  they  ought  and  richly  deserve 
to  go  hungry ;  and  possibly  a  few  of  them  might  have 
mingled  with  that  wailing,  universal  crowd  in  every 
market-place,  but  of  course  only  to  minister  to  the 
spiritual  necessities  of  those  whose  souls  had  still  a 
chance  for  salvation. 

If  history  and  the  general  consensus  of  the  people 
can  be  relied  upon,  the  priests  are  always  ready  to 
procure  from  heaven  the  necessary  rain  and  sunshine 
and  the  favorable  winds  to  germinate  and  fructify 
the  wheat ;  they  can  be  relied  upon  to  see  that  it  is 
properly  harvested  with  thanksgiving  and  praises, 
duly  thrashed  and  winnowed,  kneaded  and  baked; 
and  few  there  be  who  can  remember  of  a  single  loaf 
passing  into  the  hands  of  the  omnipotent  "  Masters 
and  Lords  of  the  Bread ' '  before  the  priests  had  been 
fed  and  fully  satisfied.  While  a  lawyer  here  and 
there  may  starve,  no  one  can  recollect,  nor  do  those 
omnivorous  gatherers  of  the  startling  events  of  life 
ever  chronicle,  such  an  ignominious  fate  for  the 
priests.  If  there  were  no  other  life  lines  thrown  out, 
their  everlasting  supporters  and  friends,  the  women, 
would  rescue  them  at  the  peril  of  their  own  lives. 

In  the  picture  given  of  the  vast  assembly  of  starv- 


SAD  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  191 

ing  mortals  in  every  market-place,  the  artist  says  of 
the  women :  ' '  And  above  all  the  clamor  of  the  men 
were  heard  the  voices  of  a  multitude  of  women  cry- 
ing to  the  Masters  of  the  Bread:  '  Pass  us  not  by, 
for  we  must  also  eat.  .  .  If  you  will  not  take  us 
for  our  labor's  sake,  yet  look  upon  us;  we  are  women 
and  should  be  fair  in  your  eyes.  Take  us  and  do 
with  us  according  to  your  pleasure,  for  we  must 
eat.'  "  And  again,  after  the  "  Masters  of  Bread  "  had 
taken  for  their  use  and  pleasure  such  as  they  saw  fit, 
"  there  was  left  a  great  multitude  in  the  market-place 
for  whom  there  was  no  bread."  The  only  construc- 
tion that  can  be  placed  upon  this  language  is,  that 
the  great  majority  of  the  women  of  our  fair  land  had 
deliberately  gone  to  the  market-places  everywhere, 
and  bartered  their  honor  and  beauty  for  bread.  Men 
of  all  classes  of  society  were  there,  but  high  above 
all  the  clamor  of  these  stalwart,  brawny  men  of  toil, 
these  lawyers,  priests,  and  scribes,  were  heard  the 
voices  of  a  multitude  of  women. 

If  this  were  true,  the  women  must  have  far  out- 
numbered the  men,  as  their  piteous  wail  for  bread 
"  was  heard  above  all  the  clamor  of  the  men,"  and 
that  too  at  any  cost  of  their  honor  and  womanhood.  X 

If  this  were  true,  the  majorit}^  of  the  women  of  this 
generation  had  sunk  in  morals  far  below  any  pagan 
or  savage  tribes  mentioned  in  the  annals  of  history. 
The  picture  is  too  horrible  to  look  upon.  If  intended 
to  represent  the  women  of  this  generation,  there  is 
not  a  semblance  of  truth  in  it.  Possibly  there  are 
relatively  a  few  women  in  the  period  contemplated 
who  would  sell  themselves  for  bread,  or  its  repre- 
sentative ;  but  not  openly,  in  every  market-place  in 
the  land.     To  say  that  multitudes  in  every  market- 


192  REALITY 

place  would  deliberately  do  so,  is  a  monstrous  un- 
truth and  an  infamous  charge,  utterly  unsupported 
by  any  conditions  or  facts  that  ever  did  or  ever  can 
exist.  If  intended  to  represent  possible  conditions, 
purely  imaginative,  the  picture  is  a  lamentable  fail- 
ure. For  all  art  is  based  upon  truthful  representa- 
tion. It  is  untruthful  in  perspective,  outline,  and 
color.  Such  conditions  never  did  and  never  can 
exist  even  in  pagan  or  savage  life,  much  less  in 
civilized  communities  in  the  last  quarter  of  this  clos- 
ing century. 

This  utter  destruction  of  all  that  is  noble,  exalted, 
and  honorable  in  men,  and  all  that  is  sacred,  holy, 
and  lovable  in  women;  this  complete  extinction  of 
the  intellectual,  the  moral,  the  sesthetical,  and  spirit- 
ual, all  that  distinguishes  the  human  from  the  brute 
creation :  we  are  coolly  asked  to  believe  was  caused 
by  "  Competition,"  and  was  "  the  last  refinement  of 
indignity  put  upon  human  nature  by  your  economic 
system."  This  generation, —  before  whose  eyes  this 
vast  assemblage  of  unprecedented  suffering  convened 
in  every  market-place,  and  of  which  assembly  every 
adult  now  living  was  portrayed  as  a  piteous,  suppli- 
cating, wailing  member, —  all  know  that  simple  com- 
petition and  our  industrial  system  never  did  nor  ever 
could  produce  any  such  results,  nor  any  state  of  so- 
ciety and  commercial  life  tending  toward  such  a  dia- 
bolical consummation. 

We  have  already  shown  in  this  book,  by  some  of 
the  best  thinkers  of  the  ages,  that  the  Dreamer's 
theories  and  conclusions  on  competition  and  indus- 
trial systems  are  wholly  untenable ;  and  that  these 
causes  are  absolutely  inadequate  to  produce  such  stu- 
pendous results. 


THE  CHIEF  QUESTION  IN  MARRIAGE  193 

In  addition  to  the  above  very  serious  and  utterly- 
untruthful  charge,  one  of  the  most  striking  and  un- 
satisfactory impressions  made  by  Equality  upon 
the  reader  is  the  low,  debased,  and  unworthy  view 
taken  of  the  women  of  our  land.  The  attempt  to 
novelize  the  story  by  the  introduction  of  lovely  Edith 
is  practically  a  failure. 

The  chief  function  that  characterizes  her  as  a  wom- 
an is  the  manifestation  of  great  inquisitiveness.  This 
at  all  times  and  everywhere  is  admitted  to  be  one  of 
the  dominant,  though  not  the  most  lovely,  character- 
istic of  her  sex.  She  seems  simply  to  act  as  an  ever 
convenient  interlocutor  of  the  Dreamer  and  the  other 
characters  —  a  sort  of  wound-up  clock  ready  to  strike 
when  the  time  arrives.  Largely  devoid  of  those 
innumerable  feminine  manifestations, —  the  fanciful, 
humorous,  witty  play  of  the  head  and  heart  forces 
that  grace  with  beauty  and  render  interesting  the 
successful  novel, — she  appears  rather  to  have  been  in- 
troduced to  indicate  that  he  once  respected  and  rever- 
enced woman  —  for  it  would  seem  impossible  that  he 
ever  could  have  loved  one  —  to  awaken,  inspire,  and 
revive  a  flame  of  a  former  love  experience  before 
Sawyer  hypnotized  him.  There  is  little  freshness  of 
incident,  difference  or  variety  in  the  speeches  of  the 
several  characters. 

In  the  labored  discussions,  all  tending  to  the  same 
end,  it  is  asserted  that  women  are  inferior  to  men  by 
reason  of  a  claimed  dependence  upon  them  for  main- 
tenance ;  that  there  can  be  no  equality  of  the  sexes 
except  along  moral  lines.  Yet  he  claims  the  ine- 
quality was  caused  by  the  purely  secular  question  of 
support;  that  to  obtain  this  support,  they  were 
compelled  to  be  persona  grata  at  all  times  and  places, 


194  REALITY 

and  the  whole  aim  and  end  of  their  life  was  to  be 
pleasing  and  acceptable  to  the  men ;  that  the  reflec- 
tions from  their  mirrors  were  far  more  important 
than  those  of  the  head  and  heart.  Such  a  necessity- 
being  ever  upon  them,  their  inferiority  was  constant- 
ly and  painfully  manifest  and  acknowledged.  He 
asserts  that  women,  who  are  wholly  engaged  in  a  con- 
stant effort  to  please  these  superior  men,  could  not 
from  the  very  nature  of  the  case  become  the  mothers 
of  a  noble  race ;  that  all  the  great,  sacred,  and  enno- 
bling questions  concerning  motherhood,  art,  science, 
literature,  government,  and  religion  were  completely 
obliterated  and  submerged  in  the  mere  questions  of 
fashion,  etiquette,  and  how  best  to  appear  most  at- 
tractive on  all  occasions. 

It  is  affirmed  that  since  maintenance  by  men  was 
an  imperative  necessity,  marriage  was  the  only  proper 
and  honorable  destiny  of  the  woman.  The  perma- 
nent and  all-eno^rossing  thought  was,  therefore, 
whether  the  proposed  male  could  be  easily  pleased 
and  support  them  in  an  acceptable  manner.  The 
debasing,  belittling,  and  ever  degrading  influence  of 
such  an  insignificant  theme  for  constant  reflection  is 
at  once  apparent.  But  there  is  no  evidence  that  this 
was  the  case  to  any  considerable  extent.  There  have 
always  been  some  weak  and  frivolous  women  as  well 
as  men.  It  must  also  be  remembered  that  the  won- 
derful dream  occurred  Amio  Domini  1887,  only  some 
ten  years  since ;  and  that  the  women  described  were 
the  mothers  of  to-day,  the  adult  women  of  this 
generation. 

Very  many  happy  marriages  exist  where  the  hus- 
band had  no  means  of  supporting  a  wife  when  mar- 
ried,   and    their    conditions    have    not    materially 


ALL  A  VENUES  OPEN  TO  WOMEN  195 

changed ;  and  yet  very  many  good  people  manage  to 
exist,  live  upon  what  is  called  love,  and  are  happy 
and  contented. 

The  theory  that  marriage  for  support  is  a  neces- 
sity in  this  era  for  women,  is  wholly  erroneous. 
While  the  question  of  support  is  always  of  more  or 
less  importance,  it  is  a  mere  incident  of  minor  con- 
cern, when  compared  with  many  others  of  vastly 
more  interest  and  consideration  as  to  duty  in  life. 

It  is  beyond  dispute,  that  a  happy  marriage  is  the 
acme  of  human  bliss  and  the  highest  possible  attain- 
ment of  men  and  women  in  all  ages,  classes,  and 
nations.  The  vastly  more  important  questions  that 
conduce  to  this  result  are  those  of  temperament,  in- 
tellectual and  moral  adaptation,  of  personal  inspira- 
tion, magnetism,  and  all  those  subtle  forces  of  mind 
and  heart  which  elicit  admiration,  attraction,  and  in- 
fluence over  each  party ;  which  arc  summarized  in  the 
term  "love,"  and  which  always  generate  and  enlist 
perpetual  esteem,  respect,  and  reverence. 

Given  these,  the  question  of  mere  support  vanishes 
as  a  trivial  incident,  an  afterthought,  and  is  hardly 
worthy  of  extended  consideration. 

Under  the  favorable  laws  and  conditions  of  social 
life  and  the  great  leveler,  public  opinion,  the  spheres 
of  woman's  activities  in  this  generation  have  been  so 
broadened  and  enlarged,  that  they  are  no  longer  de- 
pendent upon  the  men  for  their  support,  and  are  for 
this  reason  no  longer  inferior.  They  can  now  pos- 
sess, use,  and  own  their  own  property.  Practically 
every  avenue  to  support  and  affluent  wealth  is  opened 
wide  to  them,  the  same  as  to  men.  All  business, 
professional,  literary,  scholastic,  and  artistic  life  has 
opened  its  doors  to  them ;  and  generally  at  the  same 


196  REALITY 

remuneration,  for  the  same  fidelity  and  service  ren- 
dered.    This  was  practically  the  case  in  1887. 

To  affirm,  therefore,  that  marriage  for  support  is  a 
necessity,  is  doing  a  great  injustice  to  the  ability,  that 
rare  sense  of  refinement  and  appreciation  of  the 
higher  and  nobler  faculties  of  the  intellect  and  heart 
which  dominate  and  distinguish  the  women  of  this 
generation.  To  marry  for  support  indicates  a  pover- 
ty of  resources  in  the  appreciation  of,  and  the  capacity 
to  enjoy,  the  higher  forms  of  social  life.  But  a  small 
fraction  of  the  women  of  this  era  will  voluntarily 
confess  such  inferiority  in  these  attainments,  as  to  be 
moved  by  the  very  lowest  consideration  for  forming 
such  a  relation.  Long  since  have  a  great  majority 
of  the  marriageable  women  of  this  era  passed  the 
lower  stages  of  sociology.  A  hook  skillfully  baited 
by  a  count,  a  prince,  or  a  man  of  vast  wealth,  at- 
tached to  a  line  skillfully  thrown  upon  the  matrimo- 
nial sea,  will  occasionally  catch  an  inexperienced, 
verdant  schoolmaiden,  even  now ;  but  the  cultured, 
aspiring,  full-orbed  women  are  not  caught  with  such 
bait,  nor  that  kind  of  Izaak  Walton.  Such  a  motive 
is  no  longer  the  chief  influence  to  such  a  relation 
among  the  noble  women  of  the  land. 

They  come  within  that  universal  law  of  the  cul- 
tured, by  which  the  satisfaction  of  wants  and  desires 
among  them  continually  opens  the  circle  of  larger 
wants  and  desires,  until  the  satisfaction  of  those 
larger  and  more  exalted  circles  of  wants  and  normal 
aspirations  becomes  a  necessity  for  their  content- 
ment and  happiness.  By  each  satisfaction  of  a  want, 
an  aspiration,  a  hope,  or  even  fancy,  the  vista  is  ever 
broadened  until  the  whole  being  is  controlled  by  this 
law. 


LIMITATIONS  OF  WOMEN  197 

Atavism  may  affect  a  few ;  but  in  social  life  the 
later  and  larger  wants  and  aspirations  are  more  up- 
lifting towards  the  ever- widening  circles  which  always 
still  lie  beyond  them,  inviting  from  these  opening 
vistas  of  the  future  gratification  and  full  satisfaction. 
This  involves  the  nobler  faculties  of  the  intellect, 
the  deepest  yearnings  of  the  heart,  and  the  more 
delicate  manifestations  of  the  fancy  and  the  imagina- 
tion. It  is  the  basis  of  the  ever-present  inquisitive- 
ness  of  the  sex.  It  is  an  effort  to  follow  the  stray 
sunbeams  to  the  source  of  all  the  light,  and  the  pulsa- 
tions of  an  experienced  pleasure  to  the  source  of  all 
joy  —  perfected  love.  It  is  the  regnant  characteristic 
of  the  women  of  this  era  that,  as  a  class,  they  are 
honestly  inquiring  after,  seeking  for,  and  aspiring  to, 
better  conditions  of  social  life  and  happiness, —  a  most 
praiseworthy  pursuit ;  and  every  honorable  man  will 
ever  bid  them  Godspeed  in  their  effort. 

Mere  maintenance  has  little  to  do  with  this  effort, 
and  no  industrial  system  can  materially  affect  or  con- 
trol it.  At  best  it  is  but  the  lowest  and  first  step  in  the 
limitless  ladder  of  ascent,  and  is  comparatively  of 
little  significance.  If  the  spirit  and  will-power  exist, 
there  is  scarcely  a  limit  to  their  ascending  process. 

It  is  not  a  necessity,  for  the  reason  that  women  are 
abundantly  able  to  take  this  first  step  in  the  ascent. 
Many  of  them  not  only  support  themselves,  but 
oftentimes  the  men  they  marry  and  others  dependent 
upon  them.  The  time  has  long  since  passed  when 
it  w  'S  ignoble  and  unwomanly  to  do  this.  In  the 
battle  of  life  they  are  usually  credited  with  greater 
emotional  power,  keener  intellectual  perceptions, 
more  vivid  imaginations,  a  finer  fancy,  poetical  and 
artistic  conceptions  than  men.     Their  rule  is  trium- 


198  REALITY 

phant  in  the  Kingdom  of  the  Heart  and  the  Imagina- 
tion, and  they  excel  as  seers  and  prophets,  and  can 
dream  without  being  hypnotized  for  a  hundred  years. 

The  most  significant  fact  and  crowning  glory  of 
the  last  quarter  of  this  century,  including  the  closing 
period  of  the  wonderful  dream,  is  the  tremendous 
volcanic  uplift  and  emancipation  of  woman, —  and  this 
in  every  department  of  her  social,  intellectual,  artis- 
tic, spiritual,  and  industrial  life. 

The  hidden  sources  of  this  miracle  of  the  ages, 
this  fulfillment  of  the  dreams  of  the  noble  and  ex- 
alted of  the  bygone  centuries,  is  still  an  undiscovered 
mystery.  Yet  its  mighty  potency  is  everywhere  felt 
and  acknowledged. 

It  has  come  upon  the  race  with  a  movement  as  un- 
obtrusive as  the  gilded  rays  of  the  rainbow,  in  its 
picture  of  beauty,  after  the  weeping  storm ;  as  deli- 
cate and  imperceptible  as  the  hidden  play  of  woman's 
finest  fancy ;  as  serious  and  impressive  as  her  most 
sacred  heart  yearnings;  as  exalted  as  the  loftiest 
aspirations  of  her  towering  intellect;  and  deep  and 
profound  as  the  most  spiritual  research  and  experi- 
ence, of  her  heart.  It  thrills  and  vibrates  through 
all  the  life  of  the  universe,  from  stone  to  star. 

Fifty  years  ago,  woman  was  practically  limited  to 
washing,  teaching  school,  or  marriage.  Even  then 
it  was  often  a  serious  question  which  was  the  most 
desirable.  Now  she  may  choose  her  own  course,  de- 
termine her  own  position  and  destiny  in  the  world's 
social,  intellectual,  spiritual,  and  industrial  life. 

It  is  to  her  great  credit  and  the  utter  confusion  of 
the  pessimists  and  false  prophets,  that  she  has  en- 
tered every  possible  field  of  human  activity  with  the 
most  commendable  self-reliance,  enthusiasm,  and  zeal ; 


MARRIAGE  NOT  A  NECESSITY  I9y 


until  even  now  she  is  the  successful  competitor  with 
man  in  most  of  the  leading  activities  of  the  race. 
The  avidity  with  which  women  have  embraced  every 
opportunity,  and  their  triumphant  success  in  achieve- 
ments hitherto  considered  impossible  for  them  to  un- 
dertake, has  been  the  miracle  and  admiration  of  this 
generation. 

OPPORTUNITIES  FOR  THE   BEST  EDUCATION. 

In  a  recent  report  of  an  educator  in  England,  out 
of  162  universities  examined,  139  freely  admit  women 
on  the  same  terms  as  men. 

This  is  the  practical  condition  in  Scotland,  Wales, 
Australia,  India,  Canada,  France,  Belgium,  Holland, 
Denmark,  Sweden,  Switzerland,  Greece,  Italy,  and 
the  United  States.  The  great  sinners  of  Europe  in 
this  respect  are  Germany,  Austria,  and  Russia. 

In  this  country  every  college,  university,  or  art  in- 
stitute for  special  training  of  any  considerable  im- 
portance is  filled  to  overflowing  with  women  students ; 
and  the  records  show  that  with  the  same  curriculum 
their  standing  is  fully  equal,  if  they  do  not  surpass, 
on  an  average,  the  male  students.  While  this  is  true 
of  the  literary  and  specially  scholastic  institutions, 
the  still  more  marvelous  and  universal  phenomenon, 
along  educational  lines  at  least,  in  this  country,  is 
the  recent  club  life  everywhere  vigorous  and  amaz- 
ingly successful. 

Every  city,  village,  and  hamlet  has  its  well  organ- 
ized, well  attended,  and  well  conducted  clubs.  These 
embrace  a  careful,  systematic,  and  thorough  investi- 
gation, not  only  of  subjects  peculiarly  interesting  to 
the  sex,  but  those  heretofore  relegated  to  and  sup- 
posed to  be  interesting  and  profitable  only  to  men. 


200  REALITY 

Those  anxious  to  confine  women  to  their  supposed 
sphere  have  been  amazed  and  confounded  at  the  zeal, 
enthusiasm,  thoroughness,  and  grand  success  of  this 
literary  club  life  along  the  lines  of  human  thought 
and  action. 

In  view  of  this  brilliant  and  unparalleled  move- 
ment, how  infinitely  pessimistic,  debasing,  and  un- 
true is  it  to  declare  that  marriage  for  support  is  a  ne- 
cessity for  the  women  of  this  era,  and  to  demonstrate 
that  they  are  inferior  to  men !  The  hope  among  all 
right-minded  men  is  that  this  grand  movement  may 
continue  with  unabated  energy,  enthusiasm,  and  suc- 
cess, until  they  effectually  demonstrate  their  superi- 
ority to  men  in  the  better  solution  of  the  many  great 
questions  that  now  sorely  vex  our  social  and  national 
life. 

It  is  the  rising  sun  of  a  glorious  day  for  the  whole 
race,  the  Bethlehem  Star  that  points  with  brilliant 
rays  to  the  source  from  whence  cometh  the  salvation 
of  the  weary  world.  It  will  dissipate  the  fearful, 
horrible  shadows  of  death  so  graphically  pictured  in 
the  universal  gathering  in  Equality,  and  hush  the 
clamorous  wail  of  misery  said  to  have  been  heard  in 
every  market-place  for  bread  at  any  price  from  the 
starving  women  of  this  generation. 

THE  EFFECT  OF  THIS  CULTURE. 

The  effect  of  this  amazing  change  in  the  status  of 
women  in  the  intellectual,  social,  artistic,  poetic, 
literary,  and  industrial  realm  upon  the  future  of  the 
race,  is  under  serious  consideration.  But  only  the 
pessimists  are  greatly  alarmed.  The  effect  can  only 
and  always  be  beneficial.  In  their  uplift  the  men 
will  be  compelled  to  participate,  and  the  effect  can- 


EMANCIPATED   WOMAN  201 

not  be  other  than  elevating  and  refining,  resulting 
always  in  higher  types  and  conditions  in  every  walk 
of  life. 

Love,  the  most  potent  force  in  the  universe,  the 
divinity  within  the  heart,  has  always  dominated  the 
sex,  and  no  amount  of  culture  will  change  this  reg- 
nant power.  Men,  heretofore,  have  been  the  prin- 
cipal recipients  of  this  choicest  product  of  heaven 
and  earth.  Those  who  by  proper  character  and  cul- 
ture are  worthy  of  it  in  the  future  have  little  cause 
to  fear.  Even  inferior  men  are  probably  more 
worthy  of  woman's  love  and  attention  than  poodle 
dogs,  birds,  or  even  books,  art,  or  the  fashions  of 
the  day. 

Culture,  breadth  of  knowledge,  and  an  enlarged 
experience  will  make  women  more  wise  and  discreet 
in  selecting  the  happy  objects  of  their  affection.  It 
is,  however,  entirely  safe  to  affirm  that  very  few  will 
find  it  a  necessity  to  marry  for  support,  and  thus 
demonstrate  their  inferiority  to  and  dependence  upon 
men.  Those  men  who  believe  and  advocate  such  an 
unworthy  theory  will  be  coolly  left  to  pass  under 
hypnotic  influences,  as  best  they  can,  the  passing 
centuries  in  unutterable  dreamy  isolation,  compared 
with  which  outer  darkness  would  be  brilliant  sun- 
light. 

There  is  a  far  greater  shout  that  fills  the  air  than 
ever  rose  from  the  miserably  despondent,  universal 
gathering  in  the  market-places  of  Equality.  In 
jubilant  tones  it  echoes  from  every  mountain  peak, 
rings  through  the  valleys,  and  rolls  across  the  lakes 
and  oceans.  It  is  the  triumphant  song  of  eman- 
cipated woman.  All  the  nobler  and  more  exalted 
manhood   of  the  world  most  heartily  joins  in   this 


202  REALITY 

mighty  All  Hail  to  the  emancipation  of  woman,  and 
to  the  coming  salvation  of  the  race  from  the  thraldom 
of  oppression  in  every  form,  the  sway  of  peace  and 
prosperity,  the  perfection  of  human  happiness 
through  the  peaceful  triumph  and  reign  of  a  per- 
fected humanity.  Heaven's  most  benign  influences 
seem  to  have  inspired  this  movement,  and  its  bless- 
ings continually  crown  its  progress. 

The  women  of  this  generation  have  risen  to  the 
emergency;  they  have  only  to  obey  the  maxim 
'' Carpe  diem,''  and  the  evening  of  this  century  and  of 
all  time  will  ring  the  triumphant  song  of  the  morn- 
ing: **  Glory  to  God  in  the  highest,  and  on  earth 
peace,  good  will  toward  men." 


BROTHERLY  LOVE 

Equality  presents  another  beautiful  picture  that 
will  ever  arouse  and  unify  the  sympathy  of  all  its 
religious  and  worshipful  readers.  After  the  water- 
tank  allegory,  in  which  the  capitalists  had  em- 
ployed the  priests  and  soothsayers  to  deceive  and 
calm  the  turbulent  masses  of  the  people,  he  says 
that  they  als^  secured  mighty  men  to  fight  the  people ; 
then  the  agitators  came  and  told  the  people  that  they 
could  change  this  condition ;  and  they  did  so.  "And 
there  was  no  more  any  thirst  in  that  land,  neither 
any  that  was  ahungered,  nor  naked,  nor  cold,  nor  in 
any  manner  of  want ;  and  every  man  said  unto  his  fel- 
low, *  My  brother,'  and  every  woman  said  unto  her 
companion,  '  My  sister,'  for  so  were  they  with  one 
another  as  brethren  and  sisters  which  do  dwell  to- 
gether in  unity.  And  the  blessing  of  God  rested 
upon  that  land  forever." 

This  pleasing  spectacle  of  all  the  people  calling 
each  other  by  the  endearing  name  of  brother  and 
sister  and  living  in  unity  with  the  blessing  of  God 
upon  the  land  forever,  was  the  direct  and  immediate 
result  of  what  he  calls  the  people  changing  their 
prior  existing  conditions ;  that  is,  through  the  advice 
of  the  agitators,  possession  was  taken  of  all  public 
corporate  property  and  wealth  without  the  consent 
of  the  owners  or  any  remuneration  whatever. 

He  seems  to  desire  the  reader  to  believe  that  this 
changed  condition  from  the  wage  and  profit  system 


204  REALITY 

to  his  theoretical  industrial  system  based  upon  the 
equal  distribution  of  wealth,  was  the  immediate  cause 
of  this  unity  among  the  people,  and  the  descent  of 
the  blessing  of  God  upon  the  land  forever ;  as  if  both 
were  a  new  experience  to  the  race  and  had  no  prior 
existence  because  no  such  conditions  had  ever  pre- 
vailed. 

The  fact  is,  the  use  of  these  endearing  epithets  is 
as  old  as  time  itself.  God  himself,  if  the  inspired 
narrative  be  true,  taught  directly  the  doctrine  of  the 
Fatherhood  of  God  and  the  brotherhood  of  man  in 
the  Garden  of  Eden,  when  he  asked  Cain,  the  first- 
born of  the  race,  "  Where  is  thy  brother  Abel?  "  and 
Cain  replied,  "Am  I  my  brother's  keeper?"  The 
same  great  universal  doctrine  has  been  the  basis  of 
Buddhism  and  most  of  the  great  religions  of  the  past 
and  the  present  age. 

It  has  given  birth  to  Socialism  in  its  varied  forms 
and  many  other  kindred  organizations  in  different 
nations.  The  aim  is  to  have  such  an  equality  of 
property,  opportunity,  privilege,  and  power  that  no 
member  can  claim  superiority  in  any  possible  direc- 
tion. 

The  most  notable  experiment  in  this  country  was 
Brook  Farm,  in  Massachusetts,  in  1840-44.  This 
had  in  its  membership  some  strongly  endowed  and 
highly  cultured  men  and  women.  But  it  soon  lamen- 
tably failed ;  as  all  organizations  based  on  these  prin- 
ciples always  have,  when  applied  to  any  community  of 
importance  in  numbers  and  commercial  power,  since 
Christ  and  his  Apostolic  Church  tried  the  experiment. 
Probably  the  ablest  apostle  of  the  opposition  to  the 
present  order,  Ex-Governor  John  P.  Altgeld,  said  in 
an  able  speech  on  May  30,  1897,  at  Philadelphia,  that 


GOD  CANNOT  BLESS  UNJUST  ACTS  205 


the  world  was  not  yet  ready  for  Socialism.  This  is  a 
great  truth ;  and  from  such  a  speaker,  and  at  such  a 
time,  bravely  uttered.  He  might  have  added  that 
the  world  and  the  race  never  have  been  and  never 
will  be  ready  for  it,  until  the  whole  structure  of  the 
race  is  radically  changed.  The  people  may  be 
brought  to  dwell  in  comparative  unity  and  agree- 
ment along  certain  limited  and  well-defined  lines  of 
thought  and  conduct,  and  the  blessing  of  God  will 
rest  upon  them  as  it  always  does  upon  His  children  — 
the  whole  race.  He  is  no  respecter  of  persons,  time, 
or  nations.  He  rules  the  universe  in  accordance  with 
the  fixed  beneficent  laws  which  operate  upon  all  alike 
within  the  sphere  of  their  application. 

All  that  live  righteously,  whose  actions  are  based 
upon  and  whose  conduct  in  life  is  governed  by  and 
conforms  to  these  beneficent  laws,  are  always  blessed 
and  forever  in  their  obedience  to  them.  The  mis- 
take is  to  suppose  that  a  just  God  can  approve  and 
bless  forever  an  act  of  injustice. 

It  is  inconceivable  to  suppose  a  large  or  small  frag- 
ment of  the  race  can  grow  and  prosper  and  receive 
forever  the  blessing  of  God,  when  they  have  taken 
their  neighbors'  property  and  wealth  without  their 
consent  or  any  remuneration  therefor.  When  hav- 
ing committed  an  iniquitous  act  of  injustice  and 
deliberately  broken  a  command  of  the  Decalogue, — 
recognized  alike  the  world  over  by  the  savage,  the 
pagan,  and  all  religionists  —  by  all  men  in  fact,  and 
in  all  ages, — it  is  not  unreasonable  that  they  could  be 
sufficiently  united  to  shake  hands  over  the  diabolical 
transaction  and  call  each  other  brother  and  sister. 

It  is  not  singular  that  they  sought  the  closest  alli- 
ance and  yearned  for  sympathy  and  companionship. 


206  REALITY 

All  criminals  have  such  experiences,  and  fear  isola- 
tion, lest  it  afford  conscience  —  the  divine  light  in  the 
heart  —  an  opportunity  to  work,  and  the  moral  charac- 
ter time  to  recover  from  the  shock  and  reassert  itself 
upon  the  throne  of  the  judgment  and  reason.  The 
mere  calling  of  every  man  "brother"  and  woman 
"  sister,"  because  of  a  forcible  change  of  the  indus- 
trial system  in  the  community  where  it  is  effected, 
is  not  sufficient  evidence  that  genuine  brotherly  love 
exists  there  to  any  alarming  extent. 

In  the  Brook  Farm  experiment,  in  which  distin- 
guished men  like  Greeley,  Emerson,  Parker,  Dana, 
Geo.  W.  Curtis,  and  others,  and  women,  like  Margaret 
Fuller,  of  marked  distinction  of  character  and  cul- 
ture, took  a  prominent  part,  they  thus  greeted  each 
other.  The  Quakers,  the  Mormons,  the  great  Meth- 
odist denomination,  and  many  others,  all  greet  each 
other  as  brothers  and  sisters.  It  is  a  beautiful  cus- 
tom, and  well  might  be  practiced  by  the  whole  race. 
But  does  it  always  insure  unity  of  action  and  the  real 
love  and  affection  it  is  supposed  to  indicate  in  their 
ecclesiastical,  family,  and  national  relations;  and 
does  it  always  secure  the  blessing  of  God  forever? 

Every  one  knows  that  it  is  little  more  than  a  favored 
custom,  has  no  real  power  and  abiding  effect  upon 
the  character  and  life  of  those  who  practice  it.  Are 
they  any  more  distinguished  for  charity,  benevolence, 
and  brotherly  love,  than  the  Presbyterians,  the  Con- 
gregationalists,  the  Catholics,  or  any  other  sect  of 
religionists,  who  seldom  or  never  use  these  terms? 

GOD  MUST  BE  JUST. 

If  God  is  the  Father  of  the  race, —  and  He  has  al- 
ways so  revealed  Himself  in  the  creation,  in  the  con- 


CHRIST'S  KINGDOM  ON  EARTH  207 


science  of  every  heart,  in  the  Garden  of  Eden,  and  all 
down  the  stream  of  time  throughout  his  works ;  and  if 
all  the   so-called    seers    and   interpreters    who    have 
assumed  to  explain  His  relation  to  the  race  are  His 
children, —  and  few  there  be  that  doubt  this;  if  He 
is  a  God  of  justice,  as  all  concede  who  believe  in  Him 
at  all  as  God :  then  He  cannot  be  claimed  to  bless  for- 
ever a  fraction  of  the  race,  a  very  few  of  His  children, 
who  deliberately  break    His  command  and  steal  or 
take   without  consent   or  remuneration   property   or 
wealth  which  belongs  to  another  fraction  of  His  race, 
or  other  children  of  His  family,  under  the  guise  of 
brotherly  love  and  the   specious  plea  that  the  term 
has  never  been  properly  understood  and  practiced. 
There  has  never  been  any  doubt  about  its  meaning ; 
and  the  happy,  imagined,  perfected  humanity  of  the 
year  two  thousand  gave   it   the   same   interpretation 
and  application  it  has  to-day  and  ever  has  had.     It 
simply    means    unselfishness,    the    exercise    of    the 
altruistic  spirit,  the  doing  to  all   other  persons  just 
what  you  ask  them  in  return  to  do  to  you ;  to  sym- 
pathize   with    and    to    aid    every   less    fortunate,    or 
any  person  in  all  reasonable  methods  in  your  power ; 
to  carry  into  practice  the  teachings  of  the   Sermon 
on    the    Mount    and     the    Golden     Rule.       This    is 
practical  brotherly   love    in    all   ages,  and  as   inter- 
preted by  all   revelators    and    teachers.     There  can, 
therefore,  be  no  new  revelation  as  to  the  brotherly 
love,   its  basic    principles    and   application  in  actual 
life,  either  by  any  of  the  great  teachers  or  the  great 
Dreamer.     The   doctrine   is  too   old,  too  well  estab- 
lished, too  long  in  actual   practice  to  admit  of  any 
new  revelations  concerning  it. 


P 


208  REALITY 

THE  DREAMER  BELIEVES  IN  ANARCHY  AND  SOCIAL- 
ISM, THOUGH  HE  HARDLY  DARE  ADMIT  IT. 

The  Dreamer  thoroughly  believes  in  the  most  pro- 
nounced Socialism  and  Anarchy,  though  he  does  not 
quite  say  so.  He  plays  skillfully  with  beautiful  pic- 
tures of  great  sympathetic  power,  and  brings  show- 
ers of  tears  from  suffering  and  susceptible  women ; 
he  deals  in  finely  wrought  literary  periods,  elegant 
phrases,  and  new  revelations ;  and  boldly  asserts  that 
the  intellectual  wisdom  and  prayerful  devotion  of  the 
long-drawn  past  has  never  yet  discovered  the  spirit 
of  Christ,  or  been  able  to  interpret  His  dream  of  His 
Kingdom  on  Earth.  We  must  come  to  the  conclu- 
sion that  Christ  was  a  poor  revelator,  utterly  unable 
to  express  His  own  views  of  His  own  Kingdom,  which 
no  one  for  a  moment  believes ;  or,  that  the  race  was 
too  stupid  and  depraved  to  converse  with  its  own 
Creator  and  the  Light  of  the  World,  which  the  race 
will  never  admit;  or,  that  the  Dreamer  is  utterly 
mistaken  when  he  claims  a  new  revelation  as  to  the 
doctrine  of  brotherly  love  and  its  application,  which 
everybody  will  be  inclined  to  believe. 

WHAT  HIS  UTOPIAN  SCHEME  LACKS. 

The  Utopian  scheme  lacks  the  first  principle  of 
honesty,  that  which  must  be  the  basis  of  every  char- 
acter, be  it  personal  or  national,  which  appeals  to  a 
just  God  for  vindication  and  His  blessing  upon  it 
forever. 

We  could  all  readily  endorse,  accept,  believe  in, 
and  support  a  large  part  of  his  social  and  industrial 
readjustment  scheme;  unite  all  our  prayers  to  a  just 
God  for  His  blessing  forever,  and  call  each  other 
brother  and  sister  as  an  audible  token  of  our  sincer- 


THE  FIRST  UTOPIAN  PROPOSITION  209 

ity ;  if  he  would  include  the  capitalists,  or  honestly 
remunerate  them  for  their  wealth  forcibly  taken  from 
them.  They  are  our  brothers,  a  constituent  part  of 
the  race ;  pray  to  the  same  God  —  or  at  least  some  of 
them  do, —  and  all  of  them  ought  to,  for  if  any  one 
needs  the  consolations  and  aid  of  prayer  in  these 
days  of  virulent  hostility  it  is  the  capitalist.  There 
is  a  mighty  host  of  them ;  for,  as  far  as  the  principles 
under  investigation  are  concerned,  all  are  capitalists 
who  have  sufficient  to  keep  them  and  their  depend- 
ents from  being  a  pecuniary  burden  to  the  commu- 
nity in  which  they  reside.  The  first  proposition  of 
the  scheme  is  to  strip  these  brothers  who  have  large 
corporate  wealth  without  their  consent  or  any  remu- 
neration, deny  them  all  the  advantages  of  brotherly 
love,  and  then  expect  a  just  God  to  bless  forever  the 
transaction.  This  of  course  implies  His  disapproval 
and  curse  upon  His  other  children,  the  capitalists, 
who  were  only  guilty  of  accumulating  a  few  more 
grains  of  the  golden  material,  with  which  the  streets 
of  heaven  itself  are  supposed  to  be  paved,  and  over 
which  the  Deity  and  the  celestial  hosts  are  supposed 
to  travel.  Certainly,  Herr  Most  and  his  host  of  gen- 
uine socialists,  anarchists,  and  dynamiters  could  do 
no  worse. 

Under  the  doctrine  of  eminent  domain,  when  the 
interests  of  the  whole  people  or  nation  demand  it, 
individual  and  corporate  wealth,  by  due  process  of 
law,  may  be  condemned  and  taken  by  such  power,  its 
fair  cash  value  ascertained  and  paid  for  to  the  pos- 
sessors thereof.  Only  bandits  and  robbers  ever  ad- 
vocate or  attempt  to  justify  such  a  proceeding  as  the 
Dreamer  actually  proposes,  in  this  closing  of  the 
nineteenth    century  when    civilization    has    reached 


210  REALITY 

the  crest  of  the  highest  wave  in  history, —  to  take  the 
wealth  of  the  world  without  the  approval  of  its  own- 
ers and  without  compensation  or  process  of  law,  and 
that,  too,  at  the  instigation  of  a  very  small  fraction  of 
the  race.  It  is  the  most  anarchistical,  world-wide 
scheme  of  plunder  ever  suggested  to  the  bewildered 
gaze  of  the  people. 

The  second  proposition  of  this  Utopian  plan  is  to 
compel  all  small  capitalists  to  come  in  and  adopt  the 
scheme :  the  farmers  composing  one-half  of  the  popu- 
lation, the  vast  multitude  of  salaried  and  professional 
men  and  women,  the  comparatively  small  merchants 
and  traders,  the  followers  and  supporters  of  the  press 
of  the  land,  by  destroying  the  money  of  the  land  and 
all  the  wealth  and  property  held  by  individuals. 
The  second  proposition  is,  in  spirit  and  principle,  the 
same  as  the  first.  The  method  differs  a  little,  but 
the  end  sought  is  the  same ;  and  the  only  reason, 
apology,  or  excuse  offered  for  these  operations  is,  that 
it  is  the  fulfillment  of  Christ's  dream  of  His  King- 
dom on  Earth  and  the  doctrine  of  brotherly  love  un- 
der the  new  revelation,  the  only  duly  revised  and 
correct  one,  inspired  by  the  hypnotic  dream  in  the 
Boston  vault,  Afino  Domini  1887. 

Those  endorsing  this  Utopian  scheme  have  usual- 
ly nothing  to  lose,  but  everything  to  gain.  The 
promised  forty-five  dollars  a  month  payable  in  gov- 
ernment script,  and  a  certificate  claimed  to  be  worth 
four  thousand  dollars  which  it  is  averred  would  be 
more  valuable  than  gold,  would  probably  be  good 
wages  for  all  this  class,  for  the  perpetual  privilege 
of  thus  exercising  this  brotherly  love. 

If  our  conceptions  of  a  just  God  are  at  all  correct, 
the  misty  halo  of  beauty,  happiness,  peace,  and  pros- 


THE  SECOND  UTOPIAN  PROPOSITION  211 


perity,  which  dreamily  envelopes  the  perfected  race 
in  the  year  two  thousand,  cannot  dim  his  vision  to 
the  dishonor  and  injustice  practiced  in  the  transition 
period  when  the  world's  wealth  was  forcibly  taken. 
He  is  ever  cognizant  of  the  motives,  principles  of 
action,  and  heart-throbs  of  human  experience.  He 
cannot  be  deceived  by  cunningly  used  epithets  to 
indicate  the  presence  of  brotherly  love  that  does  not 
exist.  A  just  God  cannot  be  expected  to  bless  for- 
ever such  a  Utopian  scheme,  whose  very  founda- 
tions were  laid  in  injustice  and  dishonor,  and  where 
a  large  majority  of  the  race  were  deliberately  ex- 
cluded from  the  enjoyments  of  the  blessings  of  broth- 
erly love. 

The  Dreamer  is  a  fairly  successful  philosopher, 
but  not  a  thinker  and  reasoner.  In  Equality,  his 
reasoning  is  fatal  to  the  success  of  his  Utopian 
scheme  of  a  perfected  race  by  means  of  his  economic 
industrial  system,  based  upon  an  equal  distribution 
of  wealth. 


WHAT  GOD   MIGHT  HAVE  DONE 

"  It  is  manifest  that  the  moral  law  must  be  the  law  of 
the  perfect  man  —  the  law  in  obedience  to  which  perfection 
consists.  There  are  but  two  propositions  for  us  to  choose 
between.  It  may  either  be  asserted  that  morality  is  a  code 
of  rules  for  the  behavior  of  men  as  they  are;  or  otherwise, 
that  it  is  a  code  of  rules  for  the  behavior  of  men  as  they 
should  be.  .  .  .  Pure  rectitude  can  alone  be  its  sub- 
ject matter.  Its  object  must  be  to  determine  the  relations 
in  which  men  ought  to  stand  to  one  another — to  point  out 
the  principles  of  action  in  a  normal  society.  It  must  aim 
to  give  a  systematic  statement  of  those  conditions  under 
which  Jiuman  beings  may  har7noniously  cooperate,  and  to 
this  end  it  requires,  as  its  postulate,  that  such  human  be- 
ings be  perfect.'' — Spencer,  Social  Statistics,  p.  25. 

All  the  agitators,  reformers,  dreamers,  and  apostles 
of  unrest  seem  not  only  dissatisfied  with  the  laws 
that  govern  the  universe,  but  with  the  creation  itself. 
They  are  anachronisms  born  out  of  time,  and  place 
as  well;  neither  satisfied  with  creative  power  and 
favorable  environment,  under  which  others  they 
condemn  live,  thrive,  and  prosper,  nor  with  the  re- 
sults they  or  their  fellow-mortals  achieve. 

With  their  contentions  the  worshipful  and  enlight- 
ened minds  have  little  sympathy,  believing,  that  the 
Creator  was  all-wise,  all-loving,  and  beneficent  when 
He  made  the  earth  and  placed  the  race  upon  it,  and 
that  it  is  still   fulfilling  its  creative  destiny.     The 


214  REALITY 

very  terms  they  delight  to  use  in  designating  their 
employment,  indicate  this  spirit  of  unrest  and  dis- 
obedience and  a  constant  effort  to  change  the  race 
destiny,  to  place  it  as  far  as  possible  upon  their  ideal 
theories,  and  develop  it  along  their  lines  of  supposed 
progress;  as  if  finite  man  could  make  an  advance 
upon  Deity,  reform  His  laws,  and  improve  the  gov- 
ernment of  His  universe.  This  is  ever  futile;  for 
the  Creator  is  omniscient,  eternal,  and  omnipotent, 
while  they  are  very  finite  —  the  butterflies  of  a  June 
day,  enjoying  a  beam  of  sunlight  for  a  moment  and 
then  disappearing. 

How  evanescent  and  utterly  insignificant  their 
existence  and  efforts,  when  compared  with  the  vast 
cycles  of  creative  power  even  in  our  little  world,  and 
the  inconceivable  scope  of  wisdom  and  love  that 
made  the  azalea  on  the  mountain  top  or  the  humblest 
flower  that  blooms  forever  unseen !  How  can  they 
challenge  the  Deity  for  not  making  a  different,  bet- 
ter, and  happier  race  with  some  other  laws  of  devel- 
opment than  simple  growth?  God's  law  is  growth. 
Man  can  only  manufacture,  and  to  a  limited  degree 
make  combinations. 

If  the  creative  power  is  infinite  and  omniscient, 
then  it  is  illimitable  and  might  have  a  race  of  per- 
fected humanity  needing  no  reformation  or  growth. 

Doubtless  a  race  could  have  been  made  without 
the  powers  of  extended  thought,  reason  and  judg- 
ment, and  the  will ;  cast  in  the  tallow-dip  mould  of 
sameness  and  mediocrity;  all  of  the  same  shape, 
size,  color  of  eyes,  and  hirsute  appendages.  What 
a  tiresome  and  unsatisfactory  race  to  view!  The 
first  glance  one  of  satiety,  for  you  would  have  seen 
all  when  you  had  surveyed  one.     Then  there  would 


THE  PLEASURES  OF  DEVELOPMENT  215 

have  been  no  exhilarating  play  of  the  intellect  be- 
tween minds  of  different  attainments ;  no  kneeling  at 
the  feet  of  inspiration ;  no  intensity  of  yearning  pray- 
er for  something  better  in  the  beyond;  no  angel- 
winged  faith  for  the  pure,  the  true,  and  the  more 
holy;  no  sweet,  loving  trust  in  a  stronger  creative 
power  that  holds  up  the  sinking  spirit ;  for  the  idea 
of  growth  and  development  is  unknown.  There 
would  have  been  no  exquisite  flights  of  the  fancy 
into  realms  of  what  is  to  come ;  no  thrilling  of  every 
emotion,  by  the  almost  incontrollable  throbbings  of 
the  passions,  in  what  we  call  love ;  none  of  the  un- 
speakable bliss  of  courtship,  the  ardent,  audacious, 
determined  wooing  of  the  dear  charmer  of  the  heart ; 
for  the  reformers,  men  and  women,  are  all  alike,  all 
cast  in  the  same  mould.  Take,  O  ardent  lover,  the 
first  one  you  meet  and  be  satisfied  to  quench  your 
passionate  love,  your  infinite  yearnings,  your  soul's 
highest  aspirations  with  such  specimens  of  reformed 
loveliness ! 

"  Ah!  "  cries  the  reader,  in  a  wonderful  burst  of 
pent-up  enthusiasm,  "  Give  us,  O  Creator,  your  in- 
finite ideal;  let  the  Dreamer  have  his  perfected, 
machine-made  man. 

"  Give  us  the  formative  law  of  growth,  and  let  us 
work  out  our  destiny ;  and  when  the  end  comes,  con- 
sign us  to  the  place  of  our  choice,  the  abode  we  have 
prepared  for  ourselves  by  our  use  of  the  faculties 
given  us  and  the  culture  of  them  developed  in  each 
individual  life." 

The  race  could  have  been  made  full-orbed  in  some 
starlit  planet  among  the  circling  spheres,  and 
dropped  upon  our  earth  by  some  gigantic  celestial 
parachute.      But  with   such  a  perfected  race  the  re- 


216  REALITY 

formers  and  agitators  would  not  be  satisfied ;  for  then, 
like  the  silversmiths  of  old,  their  calling  would  be 
gone.  Then  there  would  have  been  no  innocent, 
unbiased  infancy ;  no  noble  and  ever  advancing 
manhood ;  no  full-crowning,  ripened  maturity  of  age ; 
no  morning  and  evening ;  no  glory  and  splendor  of 
the  rising  and  setting  sun  ;  none  of  the  blissful  joy  of 
new  developments,  or  fresh  new  truths  experienced, 
and  the  sweet,  grand  triumphs  of  victorious  progress. 
The  whole  race  would  be  reduced  to  the  dead  level  of 
commonplace  and  inaction.  They  insist  upon  a  per- 
fected race,  but  are  utterly  unwilling  to  use  the 
Creator's  laws  and  methods  to  obtain  it.  They  want 
the  millennium  glory,  but  must  have  it  in  their  era, 
and  in  their  own  way,  and  cannot  await  the  Creator's 
plans  for  consummating  it.  In  fact  there  can  never 
be  such  a  millennium  of  sinless  humanity  on  this 
earth,  as  is  often  preached,  prayed  for,  and  expected 
by  many  devout  souls.  The  everlasting  conditions 
of  life  forever  render  this  impossible.  For,  as  long 
as  the  race  must  be  perpetuated  by  constant  new- 
born infants  of  more  or  less  vicious  hereditary 
tendencies,  the  world  will  always  be  filled  with 
youthful  ignorance,  middle-aged  sin,  extravagance, 
reformatory  bewildering  experiments,  and  the  fol- 
lies of  the  aged. 

Any  one  who  expects  the  millennium  perfection  and 
glory  under  the  laws  that  do  now,  and  are  destined 
to  rule  this  world,  is  doomed  to  certain  disappoint- 
ment. In  fact,  whenever  a  claimed  perfect  man  or 
community  has  appeared,  it  has  always  been  a  signal 
for  calling  the  police  and  preparing  for  the  worst  — 
crucifixion  and  death. 

It  is  but  a  fancy  of  the  dreamers,  reformers,  and 


NO  MILLENNIUM  FOR  THIS  WORLD  217 

idealists,  without  a  possibility  that  it  can  ever  be 
realized;  because  the  fundamental  laws  of  the  uni- 
verse, growth  and  development,  are  forever  opposed 
to  it.  The  highest  perfection  in  all  directions  always 
finds  an  illimitable  field  beyond  for  greater  growth 
and  more  infinite  expansion. 

The  wise  will  prefer  to  be  in  sympathy  with  the 
Creator,  to  work  along  the  lines  of  His  appointment, 
and  devoutly,  lovingly  trust  His  wisdom  and  power 
for  the  desired  results. 

The  law  is  clearl)'-  written  upon  every  page  of 
revelation,  nature,  and  human  experience.  The 
forest  trees  and  all  vegetable  and  plant  life  obey  it. 
The  progress  of  Creation  is  evolved  through  it,  while 
as  far  as  we  know  every  force  and  power  of  the  uni- 
verse is  in  full  accord  with  it.  Man  in  every  depart- 
ment of  his  life  is  no  exception  to  it.  It  is  the  all- 
important  condition  of  life,  and  it  must  be  obeyed  ; 
or  a  dwarfed,  insignificant,  unrighteous  existence  is 
the  unenviable  result. 

Throughout  all  nature  the  infinite  variety  in  the 
same  species,  the  ever  constant  change  caused  by  the 
different  degrees  of  growth  and  attainment,  and  the 
joy  and  newborn  delight  they  furnish,  ever  approve 
the  Creator's  wisdom  in  all  His  creation,  and  certify 
to  His  infinite  skill  in  adopting  as  the  one  great  law 
of  the  universe  this  universal  law  of  growth  and 
development.  It  is  His  plan,  and  the  primal  source 
of  all  happiness  and  prosperity. 

INDIVIDUALISM. 

Henry  George  says,  "  Individual  liberty  is  sacred." 

There  is  much  in  nature  and  humanity  that  is  very 

beautiful   and   worthy  of   admiration ;    much   that   is 


218  REALITY 

sacred  and  holy  in  the  universe,  worthy  of  all  rever- 
ence and  worshipful  adoration  and  praise.  But  the 
most  beautiful,  mysterious,  and  sacred  thing  to  each 
individual  is  his  own  personality.  Hence  every 
person  dreads,  fears,  and  instinctively  opposes  every- 
thing which  tends  to  merge  his  personality  into  a 
community,  a  body  politic,  or  even  to  lose  itself  in 
a  nationality.  Self-preservation  is  the  first  and 
greatest  law  of  universal  life,  and  the  most  pressing 
duty  in  life  is  the  highest  possible  development  of 
this  personality.  It  is  the  source  of  the  greatest 
pleasure  and  keenest  delight,  as  well  as  the  discharge 
of  a  universal  duty. 

Were  it  not  for  this,  annihilation  at  death  would 
have  little  of  dread  and  terror  for  any  one.  Nor 
does  the  theory  of  absorption  into  Deity  satisfy 
its  aspirations.  It  is  not  the  eternal  peace  and  un- 
ceasing rest  of  Nirvana  that  can  satisfy  its  yearning 
hopes  and  inspire  it  to  a  better  life  here.  But  it  is 
the  infinite  search  after,  the  insatiate  desire  for, 
the  fullest  development  of  the  divine  within  every 
life  which  immortality  promises,  that  nerves  every 
noble  soul  for  the  most  heroic  struggle,  and  gives 
rest  and  sweet  peace  even  while  the  battle  is  raging. 

So  dear  is  this  individualism,  this  personality,  to 
each  possessor,  that  aid  from  any  other  making  the 
same  fight  is  seldom  ever  sought,  desired,  or  accepted, 
much  less  can  it  be  received  from  a  community,  na- 
tion, or  soulless  government.  Its  greatest  source  of 
power,  the  rapidity  of  growth,  lies  in  its  own  unaided 
efforts.  It  often  yearns  for  the  sweet,  refreshing  in- 
fluences of  a  genuine  sympathy ;  but  always  spurns 
all  material  protecting  aids  that  would  undermine  its 
courage,  dim  its  vision,  destroy  its  faith  and  hopes. 


INDIVIDUAL  EXPERIENCE  EVER  NEW  219 

or  tend  to  merge  its  identity  into  other  forces  or 
organizations. 

The  pathway  that  the  vista'  of  life  ever  opens  is 
the  same  that  the  race  has  trod  since  the  morning  of 
time,  and  yet  it  is  absolutely  new  and  fresh  to  every 
coming  pilgrim.  In  this  sense,  it  is  a  blessed  provi- 
sion of  the  law  of  growth  that  others  cannot  live  our 
lives  for  us.  It  is  the  greatest  charm  of  existence. 
No  two  lives  ever  have  exactly  the  same  experiences. 
Their  hopes,  fears,  faiths,  aspirations,  prayers,  and 
the  vigor,  power,  and  intensity  of  their  efforts  while 
in  pursuit  of  the  same  ends  and  along  the  same  gen- 
eral lines  of  thought,  belief,  and  action,  are  different 
because  of  varied  and  different  capacities,  endow- 
ments, and  environments. 

Love,  rectitude,  and  pure  truth  are  unchanging  and 
eternal.  Yet  to  the  degree  one  lives  in,  comprehends, 
and  enjoys  these,  his  experiences  are  ever  fresh 
and  new,  and  can  never  be  fully  known  or  experi- 
enced by  another.  This  holy  of  holies  cannot  be 
reached  most  effectually  by  aggregate  power.  Na- 
tions and  governments  do  not  make,  renovate,  and 
perfect  individuals  as  much  as  the  individuals  uplift, 
develop,  and  perfect  national  life.  The  aggregate 
excellencies  of  the  nation  rest  upon,  and  are  the  con- 
sensus of,  the  culture  of  its  citizens.  The  salvation 
of  the  individual  citizen  makes  possible  the  saving 
and  perfection  of  the  race. 

It  is  not  sufficient  that  the  saviors  and  regenerators 
of  the  race  make  their  sacrifice  and  die  once  for  the 
race. 

The  sacrifices  and  efforts  must  be  constantly  made, 
and  their  regenerating  power  felt  and  experienced 
every  moment  of  time    by    each    individual.     This 


220  REALITY 

saving  power  and  uplift  will  always  be  in  proportion 
to  the  comprehension  and  absorption  of  the  divine 
salvatory  process  in  the  individual  life.  The  nation 
does  not  save  its  citizens ;  at  best  it  only  affords  a 
partial  opportunity  for  them  to  work  out  their  own 
salvation,  to  evolve  their  own  character  and  destiny. 
It  is  the  individual  citizen  who  constantly  saves, 
regenerates,  and  gives  the  nation  its  power,  influ- 
ence, and  perpetuity. 

The  dominant  characteristics  of  national  life  are 
only  the  expression  of  the  regnant  forces  of  its  citi- 
zens, the  consensus  of  the  experiences  of  its  ruling 
subjects. 

The  earlier  civilization  of  the  Egyptians  and  Par- 
thians  was  conspicuous  for  its  commerce,  and  some- 
thing of  art  in  form  and  color.  The  Arabians  and 
Syrians  were  contemplative,  passive,  and  submissive 
to  the  exhibitions  of  power  in  life  and  nature,  and 
were  fatalistic  in  belief  and  practice. 

The  Grecian  civilization  was  dominated  by  the  in- 
tellect, philosophy,  literature,  and  language;  and  by 
the  development  of  the  aesthetic  love  for  strength  and 
beauty  as  manifest  in  their  marvelous  achievements 
in  all  forms  of  art,  and  of  the  keenest  perceptions  of 
the  divine  in  man  and  nature;  until  their  pantheistic 
belief  became  so  sensitive  that,  after  they  had  reared 
altars  to  all  the  gods  they  could  think  of,  they  reared 
an  altar,  in  Paul's  day,  to  the  unknown  God. 

The  Roman  civilization  was  characterized  by  will- 
power formulated  into  law ;  while  the  Judean  was  a 
kingdom  of  the  heart,  the  emotions,  and  affections. 
All  these  civilizations  were  reared  upon  the  will- 
power, the  culture,  and  development  then  attained  by 
their  subjects. 


THE  GIFT  OF  PERSONALITY  221 

The  Judean,  it  will  be  observed,  recognized  and 
embraced  most  that  was  embodied  in  and  character- 
istic of  all  its  predecessors ;  and  through  it  must  there- 
fore come  the  perfected  civilization  of  the  race.  The 
culture  of  the  heart  forces  and  the  emotions  embodies 
the  commercial  instinct ;  the  love  of  strength  and  the 
intellectual  in  all  forms  of  philosophy,  art,  and  lan- 
guage; the  control  of  the  will,  the  formulation  of  it 
into  law,  the  development  of  the  worshipful  for  the 
Creator,  and  the  divine  in  nature  and  man.  This 
embraces  all  the  possible  powers  of  the  race,  and 
there  is  nothing  beyond.  From  it  and  through  it 
must  come  all  that  there  can  be  of  a  perfected  human- 
ity on  earth. 

"  No  life  can  be  pure  in  its  purpose,  or  strong  in  its  strife, 
And  not  be  purer  and  stronger  thereby. ' ' 

—  Owen  Meredith. 

The  movement  is  ever  from  the  individual  to  the 
community  and  nation.  And  while  the  reflex  influ- 
ence from  the  government  on  the  individual  is  often 
valuable  and  important,  yet  the  officials  of  the  nation 
seldom  represent  the  highest  individual  life,  even  in 
a  free  country  where  the  representatives  of  a  nation 
are  chosen  by  the  ballots  of  the  citizens.  They  are 
usually  the  leading  and  best  citizens  only  in  theory, 
and  seldom  represent  more  than  an  average  of  the 
individual  culture  and  attainments  of  the  electors 
who  give  them  their  official  positions. 

This  wonderfully  mysterious,  sacred,  holy  per- 
sonality, the  possession  of  every  human  being,  is 
therefore  too  valuable  a  gift  to  ever  be  entrusted  to 
another;  much  less  to  a  curious,  inquisitive  commu- 
nity,   a    nation,    or   a    heartless,  unsympathetic,  and 


222  REALITY 

often  unprincipled  assemblage  of  politicians  called  a 
government. 

It  is  the  law  of  nature  and  must  be  obeyed.  One 
is  made  a  mathematical  prodigy,  or  inventor;  an- 
other a  philosopher,  a  Bacon,  or  a  Brahma;  another  a 
poet,  a  Homer ;  a  musician,  a  Beethoven ;  a  Raphael, 
or  a  Rothschild.  As  in  nature, —  the  geology  and  the 
geography  of  the  world's  structure  is  composed  of  the 
seas,  the  lakes,  and  the  rivers,  of  the  great  valleys 
and  the  sky-piercing  mountains;  each  works  to  its 
greatest  possible  attainment,  and  all  work  for  each 
other  and  the  whole  cosmos.  The  Alps,  the  Hima- 
layas, and  the  Sierras  work  among  and  form  the  clouds 
which  scatter  the  dew  and  the  rain  to  water  and  fer- 
tilize the  valleys.  They  give  birth  and  force  to  the 
babbling  brooks  and  mighty  rivers,  the  seas  and 
the  vast  foliage  of  the  forests  that  clothe  the  hills  and 
the  mountains ;  and  ever  change  and  vitalize  the  at- 
mosphere and  render  possible  life  for  the  animals  and 
the  human  race. 

So,  in  the  structural  life  of  the  mind  and  the 
spirit  of  the  race,  some  —  a  very  few  relatively, — 
like  the  mountains  of  the  earth,  tower  high  above 
their  fellow-mortals,  with  their  heads  forever  above 
the  clouds  and  mists  that  envelope  the  great  mass  of 
the  race. 

This  law  of  the  universe  concerning  thought  and 
feeling,  by  which  each  life  operates  along  the  lines 
of  its  own  structure  and  develops  its  own  gifts  of 
mind  and  heart,  renders  forever  individuality  the 
most  sacred  possession  of  humanity  and  the  choicest 
gift  of  the  creative  power ;  and  woe  be  to  the  man,  or 
force,  that  in  any  way  tends  to  obstruct,  submerge, 
or  destroy  its  action  in  accordance  with  the  Creator's 


OBEDIENCE  TO  LAW  INSURES  SUCCESS         223 


plan.       He  is   opposing-  nature,    humanity,  and    the 
Deity,  and  must  fail  in  any  such  attempt. 

One  of  the  greatest  objections  to  the  perfected 
humanity  of  the  year  two  thousand  is,  that  all  of  its 
regnant  forces  tend  constantly  to  destroy  individual- 
ism and  thus  the  growth  and  constant  development 
of  the  race.  Philosophers  may  and  do  greatly  differ, 
as  to  what  its  demands  are,  and  how  best  to  meet 
them  in  the  individual  and  national  life.  But  if  fail- 
ure comes,  or  only  unsatisfactory  success  be  attained, 
it  is  and  always  must  be  attributed  to  an  unwilling- 
ness or  inability  fully  to  meet  its  demands,  and  not 
from  any  want  of  power  or  adaptation  in  the  law  to 
accomplish  the  ends  for  which  it  was  instituted.  Her- 
bert Spencer  says :  ' '  The  rate  of  progress  toward 
any  form,  must  diminish  with  the  approach  to  the 
complete  adaptation ;  since  the  force  producing  it 
must  diminish;  so  that,  other  causes  apart,  perfect 
adaptation  can  be  reached  only  in  infinite  time." 

There  are  many  things  entirely  beyond  the  ken  of 
man;  and  it  is  not  only  folly  and  disobedience,  but 
impiety  to  seek  their  solution. 

Why,  in  all  nature,  the  strong  should  ever  feed 
upon  the  weak;  and  why  the  hawk  should  thrive 
upon  the  dove  and  sparrow,  the  larger  fish  should 
eat  and  grow  upon  the  smaller  and  weaker ;  why  the 
lion  should  devour  the  fawn  or  the  lamb  ? 

This  law  of  might  sustaining  right,  of  the  survival 
of  the  fittest  all  through  nature  and  among  men, 
seems  to  have  but  one  lesson ;  and  that  is  always  em- 
phasizing the  grandeur  and  majesty  of  the  greatest 
possible  individual  development  and  growth,  grant- 
ing to  him  that  hath,  and  taking  from  him  that  hath 
not  even  that  which  he  seemeth  to  have. 


224  REALITY 

It  would  seem  from  this  that  the  prize  of  the  uni- 
verse is  to  obtain  the  greatest  possible  growth  and 
development;  that  all  things,  even  inferior  life,  must 
yield  to  the  largest  ultimate  beauty,  strength,  and 
power. 

The  Creator  seems  thus  to  honor  all  success  along 
all  lines  that  develop  those  powers  which  most  accord 
with  His  nature  and  designs.  As  far  as  we  may 
know,  all  the  powers  of  the  universe  are  designed  to 
aid  in  the  development  of  the  Godlike  in  the  race. 
The  fact  that  His  is  a  moral  nature  and  His  a  moral 
government  appeals  to  and  draws  out  the  virtue, 
strength,  and  the  moral  qualities  of  the  subjects,  as  the 
sun  and  the  air  bring  out  the  fragrance  and  beauty 
of  the  flowers. 

He  seems  to  delight  in  the  strength  and  beauty  of 
a  full-orbed  character  as  the  towering  perfection  of 
the  race.  To  render  such  a  perfection  possible,  those 
striving  for  it  must  be  tested,  tempted,  buffeted, 
strengthened,  and  developed  in  what  we  call  the 
schools  of  adversity.  Disappointed  hopes  and  ambi- 
tions, the  loss  of  the  most  beloved  and  fondly  cher- 
ished idols,  suffering,  pain,  and  the  loss  of  health 
seem  necessary  to  change  the  affections,  the  desires, 
to  prepare  the  way  for  the  sweeter,  purer,  and  more 
exalted  pleasure  of  such  a  perfected  character. 

The  oak  is  made  strong  by  a  thousand  mighty 
winds  that  drive  deep  its  roots  into  the  firmer  soil 
and  strengthen  its  towering  branches.  So  character 
is  broadened,  deepened,  and  made  stronger  and  more 
lovely  by  temptations  withstood,  passions  subdued 
and  controlled,  and  the  firm  resistance  to  every 
thought  and  emotion  that  degrades  and  destroys. 

Henry  George's  somewhat  sad  experience  touched 


LUCIFER  CAST  OUT  OF  HEAVEN  Tlfi 

the  sentimental  nature  of  the  people.  He  was  popu- 
lar, it  was  said,  because,  while  the  clever  man  played 
the    political  fiddle  by    note,   he    played   it    by    ear. 

Bascom  says :  ' '  The  suffering  of  the  world  is  an 
inseparable  part  of  its  discipline.  It  is  the  disclosure 
of  failure,  complete  or  partial.  It  corrects  our  errors, 
gives  tone  to  our  social  life,  and  is  the  background  of 
our  spiritual  joys." 

The  strong  character  is  not  the  one  that  escapes 
the  temptation  and  the  conflict,  as  asceticism  fully 
proves,  but  the  one  that  meets  its  full  force,  conquers, 
and  subdues  it.  The  seat  upon  the  throne  is  for  him 
that  overcometh,  and  none  other.  Morality  and  im- 
morality, sin  and  holiness,  can  never  enjoy  each 
other's  society.  Even  the  ambitious  Lucifer,  the 
Star  of  the  Morning,  could  not  remain  in  heaven,  the 
abode  of  a  moral  God. 

The  only  possible  justification  of  war  is  the  prin- 
ciple of  the  destruction  of  an  inferior  life  and  civili- 
zation ;  the  removal  of  powers  and  forces  that  degrade 
and  destroy;  the  discipline  of  suffering  and  sacri- 
fice, that  make  way  for  and  make  possible  the  new 
and  higher  order  of  civilization  and  race  develop- 
ment that  is  supposed  to  follow  it.  No  sacrifice  of 
life,  wealth,  and  happiness  was  deemed  too  great  to 
remove  slavery,  and  save  our  Republic  as  a  nation  of 
free  men,  and  make  possible  the  nobler  civilization 
impossible  to  be  obtained  under  the  old  regime. 

If  we  interpret  correctly  the  manifestations  of  the 
Creator  by  His  works,  He  is  better  pleased  with  one 
noble  character  who  has  become  more  like  Him  in 
the  struggle  of  life,  than  a  hundred  who  have  failed 
in  the  great  mission  of  life  —  character  building. 
Hundreds    of   animate    life    perish    where    one   ever 


226  REALITY 

comes  to  absolute  perfection ;  and  this  is  probably  as 
true  of  the  human  race,  as  of  what  is  called  the  infe- 
rior animal,  floral,  and  forest  life. 

The  Creator  undoubtedly  could  have  made  a  race 
of  perfected  men  and  women,  like  those  described  in 
Equality,  in  the  3'ear  two  thousand,  who  had  not 
sufficient  individual  force  and  will-power  even  to 
arrange  for  their  maintenance,  and  whose  whole  aim 
seemed  to  be  how  to  enjoy  the  wealth  of  the  world 
they  had  confiscated.  He  might  have  manufactured 
them  as  a  watch  factory  turns  out  watches  by  nicely 
adjusted  machines,  all  alike,  and  all  keeping  good 
time  in  accordance  with  their  environments. 

In  such  a  society,  the  noblest  and  most  Godlike 
power  given  the  race  —  the  will, —  the  choice  to  do 
righteousness  and  be  good  because  it  is  right  and 
Godlike,  seems  to  be  denied  the  very  necessity  of  its 
growth  and  movement  towards  its  Maker.  In  such 
a  sociology  the  prevailing  sentiment  must  ever  be, 
"  Let  us  be  happy,  for  to-morrow  we  die."  It  is  a 
conventional  world  of  torpid  inaction.  The  wild 
storms  of  temptation,  struggle,  and  triumphant  vic- 
tory never  ruffle  its  placid  calm  and  treacherous 
serenity.  The  inspiring  motives  that  lead  through 
constant  effort  to  perfected  character  are  not  there. 
An  individual  there  is  honest  because  there  is  no 
motive  or  advantage  to  be  dishonest.  He  obeys  the 
Golden  Rule  because  he  would  not  be  at  all  benefited 
if  he  trampled  its  precepts  under  his  feet.  He  may 
be  truthful  because  it  is  the  best  policy,  and  because 
he  would  lose  caste  and  gain  nothing  by  telling  lies. 
He  would  be  a  machine  man,  like  the  watch,  a  good 
timekeeper,  but  lacking  all  the  essentials  of  a  well- 
developed  character.     There  would  be  no  merit  in 


PURE  TRUTH,  RECTITUDE,  AND  MORALITY     227 

such  a  life  or  such  a  state  of  society.  If  the  Creator 
had  made  such  a  race,  doubtless  He  could  have  found 
some  place  for  them,  provided  He  deemed  them 
worthy  of  immortality.  But  if  the  Creator  be  a  moral 
being, —  the  author  of  a  race,  governed  by  the  moral, 
because  the  greatest  and  most  Godlike  principle, 
created  for  and  destined  to  the  companionship  of  this 
moral  Deity, —  He  can  receive  into  His  fellowship 
none  but  those  perfected  in  their  moral  character. 
There  has  never  been  discovered  any  way  for  develop- 
ing moral  character  except  by  the  free  will,  the  exer- 
cise of  a  choice  for  it,  because  it  is  the  highest  possi- 
ble attainment  to  become  like  its  Maker.  A  man  to 
come  within  this  rule  must  have  the  opportunity  to 
commit  any  possible  sin,  and  freedom  to  decide 
whether  he  will  commit  the  sin  or  not.  There  is  no 
need  of  any  more  Lucifers  experimenting  in  heav- 
en. One  example  is  sufficient  to  demonstrate  forever, 
what  must  be  the  nature  and  the  character  of  those 
acceptable  to,  and  prepared  for,  the  companionship  of 
a  moral  Deity. 

Our  best  conceptions  of  God  are,  that  He  is  pure 
truth,  pure  rectitude,  and  pure  morality  in  all  of  His 
relations  to  the  race;  that  He  can  only  rejoice  in, 
favor,  and  bless  all  efforts  honestly  made  that  tend 
towards  perfected  character.  Morality,  rectitude,  and 
truth  in  social  life  must  therefore  always  have  a 
relative  significance ;  and  exist  or  be  wanting  as  the 
race  lives  morally  and  rightly,  or  is  of  imperfect 
character  and  life. 

Spencer  says:  "  These  are  for  perfect  beings, 
where  growth  and  development  are  unknown,  and 
have  nothing  to  do  with  deranged  functions  and  mor- 
bid actions.     They  have  to  do  only  with  the  normal 


22.S  REALITY 

life,  and  cannot  recognize  a  wrong,   a  depraved,  or 
disordered  condition  of  life." 

This  seeming  impossibility  of  the  race  to  attain  to 
pure  truth,  pure  morality,  and  a  perfect  character  has 
made  necessary  in  the  philosophy  of  many  the  various 
sacrificial,  remedial,  and  atoning  systems,  whereby 
the  strength  of  perfection  may  supplement  and  aid 
the  imperfect  but  earnest  souls,  and  in  time  and  due 
experience  render  them  meet  companions  of  a  per- 
fect Deity. 

THE  END 


INDEX 


Adam,  fall  of,  first  panic,  ii6. 

Adams,  John,  ashamed  of  the 
age,  145 ;  wearied  by  military 
wrangles,  146. 

Agriculture,  of  Middle  States,  98 ; 
Prairie  States,  100-03 ;  compar- 
ative statistics  of  U.  S. ,  Gt.  Brit- 
ain, and  Europe,  loi ;  South- 
ern States,  103;  Pacific  States, 
104;  increase  of  wealth  from, 
in  forty  years,  no;  through  re- 
cent rise  in  price  of  wheat,  132 ; 
resources  of  U.  S.,  149.  See 
also  Farmers. 

Alexander,  James  M.,  description 
of  the  inhabitants  of  the  Islands 
of  the  Pacific,  70. 

Altgeld,  John  P,,  on  Socialism, 
204. 

Altruism,  proposed  remedy  for 
political  corruption,  53 ;  present 
era  organizations,  114;  not  de- 
stroyed by  wealth,  152,  168. 

Anarchy,  demands,  169;  taught 
in  Equality,  208. 

Arkwright,  Sir  Richard,  value  of 
invention   for  cotton-spinning, 

175- 

Arnold,  Matthew,  "America  holds 
the  future,"  150. 

Art,  benefited  by  wealth,  180. 

Atkinson,  Edward,  agricultural 
statistics,  149, 

Australia,  educational  opportuni- 
ties of  women,  199. 

Austria,    grain    production,    loi ; 


agriculture,  wealth,  and  taxes, 
102 ;  railroads,  103 ;  educational 
opportunities  of  women,  199. 

Bacon,  Francis,  bribery  and  cor- 
ruption cases,  147. 

Bakewell,  Robert,  improvement 
in  cattle-breeding,  175. 

Ballot,  solution  of  labor  question, 
84,  88;  free  weapon  for  the 
masses,  119,  122,  157,  178;  elec- 
torial  votes  not  for  sale,  123; 
franchise  should  be  limited  by 
educational  and  property  quali- 
fication, 162-63. 

Banks,  National,  returns  for  1890, 
1894,  94.  See  also  Savings 
Banks. 

Bascom,  John,  on  laws  of  matter 
and  mind,  113;  on  suffering, 
225. 

Beecher,  Dr.  Lyman,  reply  of,  69. 

Beggary,  universal,  pictured  in 
Equality,  1 83  -  92. 

Belgium,  comparative  develop- 
ment of  manufactures,  95; 
wealth  less  than  New  York 
State,  98;  area  compared  with 
farm-land  in  the  Prairie  States, 
100;  educational  opportunities 
of  women,  199. 

Bellamy,  Edward,  "The  Dream- 
er," length  of  dream,  15-16,  49, 
54 ;  suggests  both  question  and 
answer,  17;  chief  of  dreamers, 
19;     false     premises,     20;    de- 


230 


INDEX 


scribes,  and  proves  too  much, 
22-23;  on  property  rights,  26- 
29;  wrong  classification,  43; 
unfair  argument  against  farm- 
ers, 45-49;  against  educators, 
48,  68;  proposed  Government 
monopoly,  51;  altruistic  teach- 
ing, 53 ;  has  no  new  antidote, 
57,  67;  theory  of  perfection,  67; 
an  extremist  and  pessimist,  68 ; 
Christ  wiser  than,  82 ;  hostility 
between  labor  and  capital,  91, 
109;  economic  system,  49,  67, 
no,  209;  failure  of  civilization, 
115;  evil  of  wealth,  122,  130; 
capitalists  the  only  investors, 
129;  on  inventions,  132;  Social- 
ism of,  140,  208 ;  deceptive  illus- 
tration, 141 ;  Joseph  an  author- 
ity, 144 ;  description  of  Revolu- 
tion, 183-92,  203-04;  untenable 
conclusions  on  competition,  192; 
unworthy  view  of  woman,  68, 
193;  false  reasoning,  211.  See 
also  Equality. 

Bessemer,  Sir  Henry,  value  of 
steel-making  process,  175. 

Bonds,  why  issued  by  the  U.  S. , 
128. 

Brook  Farm,  failure  of,  204;  greet- 
ings at,  206. 

Brotherhood,  pictured  in  Equal- 
ity, 203,  205,  207;  true  mean- 
ing, 207. 

Bryce,  James,  on  intellectual  bar- 
renness of  business  men,  139. 

Building  and  Loan  Associations, 
supported  by  laborers,  88,  106; 
assets  in  1895,  107. 

Bunyan,  John,  influence  upon  hu- 
man destiny,  14;  brief  narra- 
tion, 16. 

Burns,  Robert,  "O  wad  some 
pow'r,"  III. 


Business,  perfection  in  methods, 
131 ;  increase  through  inven- 
tions, 176. 

Cain,  escaped  death  penalty,  116; 
doctrine  of  brotherhood  taught 
to,  204. 

California,  Death  Valley  mirage, 
114. 

Canada,  educational  advantages 
of  women,  199. 

Capitalists,  and  railroads,  90;  do 
not  control  juries  and  electors, 
120;  their  chief  power,  121; 
power  among  voters,  123;  fur- 
nish means  for  public  improve- 
ments, 129,  168;  in  "  Parable  of 
the  Water-tank,"  142-44;  not 
liable  to  destroy  national  insti- 
tutions and  liberty ,  156,  172,  178; 
benefited  by  invention,  176,  tyr- 
annous ' '  Masters  of  Bread, ' ' 
183-93;  unjustly  represented  in 
Eq  Utility,  209.  See  also  Wealth. 

Cells,  transformation  and  varia- 
tion, 32. 

Channing,  William  EUery,  on 
labor,  86. 

Character,  basis  of  civilization, 
57;  how  perfected,  224-25. 

Children,  clamor  for  bread,  184. 

Citizenship,  right  discharge  of 
voting  privileges  a  duty,  166. 

Civilization,  character  the  basis, 
57;  Greek,  Hebrew,  and  Roman, 
how  achieved,  59-62,  220;  pio- 
neers in  law,  art,  theology,  76; 
high  point  now  reached,  114; 
competition  necessary  to,  137, 
140;  right  use  of  ballot  re- 
quired, 166;  early  Egyptian, 
Parthian,  Arabian,  and  Syrian, 
220. 

Classes,   division  of  wealthy  and 


INDEX 


231 


pauper   in  Equality,  43;   most 
to  be  feared,   154,  155;  respon- 
sible for  present  conditions,  165; 
division  of  rich  and  poor  more 
marked,  170;  not  fixed  in  Amer- 
ica, 177. 
Clubs,  for  women,  199. 
Commerce,      proposed      Govern- 
ment control,  51;  Egyptian  and 
Parthian,  220. 
Communism,   aim  cannot  be  re- 
alized, 33. 
Competition,  effect  on  labor,  133, 
168;  on   progress  and  civiliza- 
tion, 135-38;  arguments  against, 
138-41 ;  preached  by  tue  priests 
in  Equality,  184,  189. 
Connecticut,    savings  banks  sta- 
tistics, 94 ;  development  of  man- 
ufactures, 95 ;  qualifications  for 
voting,  162. 
Constitution  of  the  United  States, 
pledges  protection,    29;  oppor- 
tunities to  earn   maintenance, 
30;  Gladstone's  opinion  of,  31, 
no;  stronger  than  ever,  151. 
Contentment,  without  wealth,  70. 
Conventions,  feature  of  this  era 

167. 
Cooperation,    indispensable    fac-' 
tors,  85;  risks,  86;  not  opposed 
by  competition,  138. 
Corelli,  Marie,  dream  in  RoDiatice 

of  Two  Worlds,  13-14. 
Corporations,   cannot  cast  a  bal- 
lot,   120;  not   so  dangerous  as 
Equality  represents,  123;  lim- 
ited by  law,  125  ;  future  of,  126- 
27;  municipal,  difficult  to  gov- 
ern, 162. 
Crime,   paraded  in   the   newspa- 
pers, So-Si,  181. 
Crosby,   Howard,  on   dangers  of 
wealth,  155,  156. 


Culture,  must  be  along  fixed  lines, 
64 ;  constant  effort  to  find  sym- 
pathy, 76;  remedy  for  antago- 
nism between  poverty  and 
wealth,  153,  161,  of  American 
people,  160;  solution  of  immi- 
gration problems,  163;  greatest 
necessity  of  the  age,  164;  effect 
on  woman,  200-01. 

Dakota,  foreign  population,  99. 
Debs,    Eugene   V.,    on   needs  of 

workingmen,  122. 
Declaration  of  Independence,  not 

in  the  Constitution,  30. 
Denmark,    area    compared    with 
farm-land  in  the  Prairie  States. 
100;     wealth     compared     with 
Pacific  States,  104;  educational 
opportunities  of  women,  199. 
Dreamers,  different  kinds  of,  12; 
views  of  the  present,  past,  and 
future,  145 ;  insist  on  ideal  gov- 
ernment without  ideal  subjects, 
161 ;  theories  of  the  causes  of 
suffering,      168-69  :      charges 
against  capital  in  a  crisis,  172; 
dissatisfied  with  creation,  213; 
expect  perfection,  216. 
Dreams,  influence  of,  14. 
Drummond,  Henry  M.,  noble  con- 
ception of  the  force  of  love,  75, 


East,  The,  education,  105.  See 
also  New  England,  names  of 
Eastern  States. 

East  India  Company,  early  mo- 
nopoly, 124;  spent  force  of  the 
past,  145. 

Economics,  unknown  among 
Sandwich  Islanders,  71-72;  in 
Garden  of  Eden,  115. 

Edison,  Thomas  A.,  value  of  tele- 
graph improvement,  175. 


232 


INDEX 


Education,  statistics  of  the  U.  S., 
104-05,  109 ;  will  ameliorate  un- 
favorable conditions,  161 ;  nec- 
essary to  voters,  162-64;  sup- 
ported by  wealth,  180;  should 
formulate  methods  of  progress, 
181-82;  woman's  opportunities 
for,  199-200. 

Educators,  denunciation  of,  in 
Equality,  47-49;  opposed  to 
economic  revolution,  53. 

Elective  franchise.     See  Ballot. 

Equality,  what  it  presents,  16-19; 
influence,  and  effect  on  the  read- 
er, 19;  argument  fallacious,  il- 
logical, pessimistic,  20-22,  68, 
208,  211;  assertions  concerning 
hereditary  and  acquired  wealth, 
23,  26,  28,  122,  129,  130,  132, 
175;  concerning  failure  of  the 
Government,  29,  113;  division  of 
capital  and  wealth,  43,  129;  in- 
appropriate epithets  applied  to 
farmers,  45;  denunciation  of 
educators,  47;  Book  of  the 
Blind,  49;  proposed  Govern- 
ment control  of  sources  of  pro- 
duction, 51,  185;  economic  Rev- 
olution of  the  nations,  55-56, 
183-94.  203;  its  cause,  77;  exag- 
gerated evil  of  corporations  and 
monopolies,  123  ;  arguments 
against  competition,  140;  "  Par- 
able of  the  Water-tank, "  141-44, 
203;  "  Masters  of  Bread,"  183- 
202;  unworthy  view  of  women, 
193 ;  dream  of  brotherhood,  203- 
06;    teaches   Anarchy,     208-10. 

Evolution,  inlaw,  113-23;  through 
competition,  136;  of  woman, 
196-202;  of  national  life,  219- 
28. 

Farmers,    "uncouth,   unlettered. 


boorish,"  28,  45;  small  capital- 
ists, 44;  "most  pathetic  figure 
in  history,"  45;  what  they  are 
to-day  in  reality,  46;  crowned 
heads  in  Equality  prepare  to 
work  as,  55;  in  Prairie  States, 
100-02 ;  average  number  and 
wealth  for  last  forty  years,  no; 
direct  gain  from  rise  in  price  of 
wheat,  132. 

Food,  production  in  Prairie  States, 
100-02;  in  entire  U.  S.,  1^9;  con- 
trolled by  ' '  Masters  of  Bread  ' ' 
in  Equality,  183-93. 

Foreign  population.  See  Immi- 
gration. 

Foreign  trade,  of  Middle  States, 
99;  Southern  States,  104. 

France,  percentage  of  successful 
business  ventures,  85;  compar- 
ative banking  power,  94 ;  manu- 
factures, 95,  96,  150;  mineral 
output  compared  with  Middle 
States,  98;  agricultural  statis- 
tics, 101 ;  wealth  and  taxes, 
102;  railroads,  103,  104;  amount 
spent  for  public  instruction,  104 ; 
revolution  caused  by  wealth, 
157;  educational  opportunities 
of  women.  199. 

Free  trade,  supposed  cause  of  suf- 
fering, 168 ;  of  panic  among  the 
wealthy,  171. 

Free  will,  noblest  power  of  man, 
226-28. 

George,  Henry,  on  individualism, 
217;  popularity  of,  224. 

Germany,  sugar  beet  interests, 
85  ;  table  of  manufactures 
compared  with  New  England, 
95  ;  agricultural  statistics,  101 ; 
wealth  and  taxes,  102 ;  railroads, 
103,    104;    method  of   allaying 


INDEX 


233 


disturbance,  i6o;  market  for 
cotton  goods,  1 80;  educational 
opportunities  of  women,  199. 

Gladstone,  William  E.,  opinion  of 
the  American  Constitution,  31, 
no;  of  natural  advantages  of 
the  U.  S.,  149. 

God,  justice  of,  206-07,  211; 
creative  wisdom,  213-17,  226; 
delights  in  perfection  of  charac- 
ter, 224-2S ;  man's  best  concep- 
tion of,  227. 

Gcethe,  Johann  Wolfgang  von,  on 
truth,  73. 

Good,  Dr.  Marion,  on  manifesta- 
tions of  sympathy,  74. 

Government,  United  States,  fail- 
ure according  to  Equality,  29- 
31;  opinion  of  Lord  Salisbury, 
31 ;  public  opinion  opposed  to 
centralization  of  powers  be- 
cause of  corrupt  legislation,  50 ; 
monopoly  proposed  in  Equal- 
ity, 51,  185;  donated  land 
for  homes,  120;  enlightened 
through  public  opinion,  126; 
managed  by  the  people,  140; 
has  nothing  more  to  offer,  160; 
difficult  problems,  161-67. 

Grain,  production  in  Prairie  States 
compared  with  Europe,  100-01 ; 
rise  in  price,  132. 

Great  Britain,  comparative  bank- 
ing power,  94;  progress  of 
manufactures  compared  with 
New  England,  95 ;  area  equal 
to  Middle  States,  98;  agricul- 
tural statistics,  loi ;  accumula- 
tion of  wealth  compared  with 
Middle  States,  103 ;  amount 
spent  for  public  instruction, 
104 ;  manufactures  compared 
with  U.  S.,  150,  180;  method  of 
allaying  disturbance,    160;    in- 


come increased  by  inventions, 
176;  educational  opportunities 
of  women,  199. 
Greece,  character  of  civilization, 
59,  220;  educational  opportuni- 
ties of  women,  199. 

Hebrews.     See  Jews. 

Holland,  with  Belgium  less  wealth 
than  New  York,  98 ;  area  com- 
pared with  farm-land  in  the 
Middle  States,  100 ;  educational 
opportunities  of  women,  199. 

Hudson  Bay  Company,  early 
monopoly,  124,  145. 

Humanity,  future  perfection  of, 
67,  213,  221,  223;  in  2000  A.  D., 
185,  223,  226;  interpretation  of 
brotherhood,  207. 

Ignorance,  of  voters,  162-63. 

Illinois,  foreign  population,  99. 

Immigration,  to  Prairie  States, 
99;  benefits  of,  151;  prohibition 
of  ignorant  class,  163. 

Immortality,  hope  of  nerves  the 
soul,  218. 

Income,  increase  through  inven- 
tion, 176. 

India,  educational  advantages  of 
women,  199. 

Indiana,  foreign  population,  99. 

Individualism,  sacredness  of,  217- 

23. 

Industrial  system,  established  in 
Garden  of  Eden,  116;  progress 
through  laws  favoring  laborers, 
120-21;  Revolution  pictured  in 
Equality,  183-92,  203,  208. 

Inequality,  rule  of  life,  32;  of  ca- 
pacities and  endowments,  33- 
36;  of  opportunities,  37-38;  con- 
spicuous in  the  Creator's  plan, 
40 ;   consistent  with  justice,  ac- 


234 


INDEX 


cording  to  Spencer,  42-43;  of 
the  sexes,  193. 

Interest,  effect  of  low  rates  on 
manufactures,  180. 

Inventions,  influence  on  monopo- 
lies, 127;  on  business  methods, 
131,  1 75;  utility  denied  in  iE"^7^rt'/- 
ity,  132;  medals  awarded  the 
U.  S.  for,  1 50 ;  effect  on  wages, 
i5g,  176;  valuable  improve- 
ments in  cotton-spinning,  steel- 
making,  etc.,  175;  cause  of  in- 
creased income,  176. 

Iowa,  food  production,  loi. 

Italy,  educational  opportunities 
of  women,  199. 

Jacob,  early  monopolist,  124. 

Jesus  Christ,  his  dream  of  an 
earthly  kingdom  not  under- 
stood, 22,  208;  interpreted  by 
Bellamy,  54,  210;  source  of  mod- 
ern theology  and  Altruism,  76 ; 
recognized  necessity  of  pover- 
ty, 82. 

Jevons,  Wm.  S.,  on  necessity  of 
competition,  136. 

Jews,  civilization,  59,  220-21 ;  se- 
vere laws,  116. 

Joseph,  early  monopolist,  144. 

Jury  system,  advantages,  11 7-19. 

KiDD,  Benjamin,  on  competition, 
136. 

Laborers,  when  capitalists,  44; 
how  benefited  by  wage  system, 
82-84;  true  elevation,  87;  in- 
vestment of  surplus  earnings, 
88-91,  107,  108;  condition  in  the 
U.  S.,  106,  108,  109,  160;  inde- 
pendent choice,  141 ;  benefited 
by  inventions,  176. 

Land,    ownership,    in     Philadel- 


phia, 107 ;  in  feudal  and  modern 
times,  157. 

Law,  insufficiency  according  to 
Equality,  113 ;  Jewish  and  mod- 
ern compared,  1 16-17;  equality 
through  jury  system,  118;  tend- 
ency to  protect  the  poor  and  la- 
boring classes,  1 1 9-2 1 ;  supports, 
yet  limits,  monopolies,  124;  in- 
differently enforced,  126,  169. 

Lawyers,  prosperity  of,  188-89. 

Lecky,  William  E.  H.,  on  pro- 
posed changes  which  conflict 
with  fundamental  laws  and 
elements  of  human  nature,  39. 

Leisure,  effect  of  abundant 
wealth,  180. 

Lessing,  Gotthold  E.,  on  aspira- 
tion to  truth,  73. 

Liberty,  man  created  for,  77 ;  pro- 
tected by  jury  system,  118;  en- 
dangered by  wealth,  155. 

Life,  Schopenhauer's  definition 
of,  75 ;  high  tension  and  unrest, 
87;  measured  by  experience, 
not  years,  164. 

Lincoln,  Abraham,  high  endow- 
ment, 36. 

Live  stock,  in  Prairie  States,  100; 
improved  method  of  breeding, 

175- 
Locke,    John,  on   man's  right  to 

food  and  his  own  person,  27. 
Looking  Backward,  popularity, 

17- 

Mahomet,  influence  upon  human 
destiny,  14. 

Maine,  savings  banks  statistics, 
94. 

Mallock,  Wm.  H.,  statistics  of  in- 
come, 176. 

Mammonism,  perils  and  advan- 
tages, 149-58- 


INDEX 


235 


Manufactures,  increase  in  New 
England,  94 ;  in  Gt.  Britain  and 
Europe,  95 ;  Middle  States,  96 ; 
Prairie  States,  102 ;  Southern 
States,  103;  Pacific  States,  104; 
benefit  from  wealth,  179;  from 
low  rate  of  interest,  180. 

Marriage,  vs.  self-support  for 
women,  194-202;  factors  of  hap- 
piness in,  195. 

Massachusetts,  banking  statistics, 
94,  97,  98 ;  development  of  man- 
ufactures, 95 ;  Brook  Farm  ex- 
periment, 204,  206. 

Masses,  toiling,  relatively  small 
fraction  of  population,  45 ;  cause 
of  Revolution  in  Equality,  77; 
better  off  in  New  England  than 
in  Europe,  94;  present  efforts 
to  uplift,  114;  power  as  jurors 
and  electors,  119;  benefited  by 
production  of  wealth,  128,  176, 
180;  by  public  improvements, 
129;  by  invention,  175-76. 

"  Masters  of  Bread,"  183-202. 

Melville,  Herman,  experiences 
among     Marquesas    Islanders, 

71- 

Meredith,  Owen,  on  pure  purpose, 
221. 

Methodists,  mode  of  greeting,  206. 

Michigan,  foreign  population,  100. 

Middle  States,  banking  statistics, 
93.  97.  99.  103,  104;  population 
and  manufactures,  97 ;  average 
wealth  per  inhabitant,  compar- 
ative mineral  output,  agricul- 
ture, and  trade,  98-99;  educa- 
tion, 104,  105. 

Mines,  possession  by  political  in- 
trigue, 28,  185;  proposed  Gov- 
ernment control,  51;  output  of 
Middle  States,  98  ;  Prairie 
States,    1850-90,    102;  Southern 


States,  103 ;  Pacific  States,  104 ; 
entire  U.  S.,  1870-80,  149. 

Minnesota,  foreign  population, 
99. 

Mirage,  type  of  pessimist's  dream, 
114-15. 

Missouri,  foreign  population,  99. 

Money,  standard,  effect  of  pro- 
posal to  change,  171.  See  also 
Wealth. 

Monopolies,  national,  proposed  by 
Bellamy,  51;  not  so  dangerous 
as  represented  in  Equality,  123 ; 
improvement  since  earlier 
times,  124,  144;  limited  by  law, 
125;  future  of,  126-27,  166;  ben- 
efits illustrated  by  Standard 
Oil  Company,  134. 

Mormons,  mode  of  greeting,  206. 

Moses,  law  of,  116,  117. 

Mulhall,  M.  G.,  statistics  of  U.  S. 
Savings  Banks,  93 ;  manufac- 
tures, 94,  150;  education,  104- 
05 ;  his  articles  should  be  read 
and  studied,  107-08;  wealth  and 
culture  of  our  nation,  160. 

Municipal  government,  difficul- 
ties, 162;  speculation  and,  177. 

Murder,  penalty,  116. 

Negroes,  rate  of  increase  in  the 
U.  S.  for  forty  years,  99. 

New  England,  laborers  bank  de- 
positors, 88,  106;  comparative 
banking  power,  93-94,  97;  de- 
velopment of  manufactures,  95, 
106;  ratios  of  product  and 
wages,  97;  amount  spent  in 
public  instruction,  104.  See  also 
names  of  States. 

New  Hampshire,  savings  bginks 
statistics,  94. 

New  York  State,  banking  statis- 
tics, 97;  wealth,  98. 


236 


INDEX 


Newspapers,  exaggerate  crime 
and  poverty,  80-81,  181. 

Norway,  wealth  compared  with 
Pacific  States,  104. 

Officials,  incompetence,  39 ;  cor- 
rupt practice,  51. 
Ohio,  foreign  population,  gg. 
Organization,  tendency  to,  167-68. 

Pacific  States,  railroads,  popula- 
tion, agriculture,  manufactures, 
mining,  wealth,  104;  schools, 
105. 

Palgrave,  R.  H.  Inglis,  on  ne- 
cessity of  competition,  136. 

"  Parable  of  the  Water-tank,"  in 
Equality,  141-44. 

Parliament,  purchase  of  seats  in, 
146. 

Penn,  William,  on  riches  and  pov- 
erty, 88. 

Perfection,  of  humanity.  See  Hu- 
manity. 

Pessimists,  view  of  past,  present, 
and  future,  145;  accomplish 
nothing,  151. 

Philadelphia,  a  city  of  homes  and 
leisure,  107. 

Politics,  machine  methods,  52; 
despotism  fatal  to  the  Republic, 
53 ;  theory  of  government  sus- 
tained by,  123;  corruption  in 
Revolutionary  days,  145  ; 
through  ignorant,  irresponsible 
vote,  163;  condition  m  igoo,  ac- 
cording to  Equality,  185.  See 
also  Ballot. 

Population,  slow  growth  com- 
pared with  manufactures  in 
Middle  States,  97;  per  cent  of 
increase  of  white  and  colored  in 
the  U.  S.  during  forty  years, 
gg;  how  large  the  U.    S.    can 


support,  149;  westward  move- 
ment, 150. 

Poverty,  relative,  exaggerated 
by  the  newspapers,  80;  neces- 
sity of,  82 ;  according  to  our  de- 
sires, 88;  infamy  of,  153;  sup- 
posed causes,  i6g-73. 

Prairie  States,  population,  immi- 
gration, agriculture,  gg  -  loi  ; 
dairy  produce,  loi ;  wealth  and 
manufactures,  102 ;  railroads 
and  banks,  102-03 ;  schools,  105. 

Priests,  preach  competition  in 
Equality,  184,  i8g. 

Profit-sharing,  in  Germany,  85; 
not  opposed  to  progress,  log. 

Progress,  based  on  culture  not 
upon  industrial  systems,  20; 
truth,  God's  law  of,  73 ;  influ- 
ence of  Middle  States  on  Ameri- 
can, gg;  Mulhall's  articles  on, 
107;  unparalleled  in  the  U.  S., 
log;  fluctuation,  113;  Spencer 
on  law  of,  1x5,  223 ;  since  Adam, 
116;  along  industrial  lines,  120- 
23 ;  accompanied  by  competi- 
tion, 136;  based  on  individual 
effort,  140;  aided  by  wealth, 
180. 

Proudhon,  Pierre  Joseph,  on  prop- 
erty rights,  27. 

Prussia,  comparative  banking 
power,  g4. 

Pyramids,  what  motive  inspired, 
58. 

Quakers,  mode  of  greeting,  206. 

Railroads,  possession  by  political 
intrigue,  28,  185;  classes  of 
stockholders,  8g-go;  in  Prairie 
states,  102 ;  compared  with  Eu- 
rope, 103,  104;  in  Pacific  States, 
104- 


INDEX 


237 


Real  estate.     Sec  Land. 

Reformers,  iconoclastic  demands, 
i6g;  charges  against  capital, 
172;  dissatisfied  with  creation, 
213,  expect  perfection,  216. 

Religion,  supported  by  wealth, 
168;  challenged  by  Anarchy, 
169;  should  furnish  repose,  and 
formulate  methods  of  progress, 
181,  182. 

Revolution,  pictured  in  Equality, 
183-92. 

Rhode  Island,  savings  banks  sta- 
tistics, 94 ;  development  of  man- 
ufactures, 95. 

Riches.     See  Wealth. 

Roman  Empire,  died  from  polit- 
ical despotism,  53 ;  character  of 
civilization,  60-62,  220;  wealth 
caused  revolution,  157. 

Rubison,  Henry  F.,  on  manifesta- 
tion of  sympathy,  74. 

Russia,  railroads  compared  with 
Middle  States,  103 ;  method  of 
allaying  disturbance,  160;  edu- 
cational opportunities  of  wom- 
en, 199. 

Saint  John,  dream  of,  13;  their 
influence,  14;  brief  narration, 
16. 

Saint  Paul,  not  a  hireling,  23 ;  con- 
ception of  the  reign  of  God,  69. 

Salisbury,  Marquis  of,  opinion  of 
American  Senate,  31. 

Samson,    motive  of    destruction, 

155- 

Sandwich  Islanders,  life  among, 
70-72. 

Savings  Banks,  accumulate 
wealth  through  the  working 
classes,  88 ;  statistical  tables  for 
1894,  93-94;  deposits  in  Prairie 
States     compared     with     New 


England,  103 ;  in  the  South 
compared  with  Middle  States, 
104 ;  estimated  deposits  of  1897, 
108. 

Schiller,  Johann  C.  F.  von,  on 
sublime  purpose,  78. 

Schools,  in  the  U.  S.,  104-05;  for- 
eign element  in,  163. 

Schopenhauer,  Arthur,  definition 
of  life,  75. 

Science,  benefited  by  wealth,  180. 

Scotland,  educational  opportuni- 
ties of  women,  199. 

Self-support,  question  settled,  20; 
constitutional  right  to  opportu- 
nity of  earning,  30 ;  essential  to 
civilization,  66;  women's  oppor- 
tunities for,  195-99. 

Ship  of  State,  not  destined  to 
wreck,  170. 

Slavery,  bondage  of  chattel,  117; 
distinction  between  free  labor 
and,  141. 

Smith,  Sydney,  regarded  poverty 
as  infamous,  153. 

Socialism,  brotherhood  doctrine 
of,  204;  world  not  ready  for, 
205 ;  taught  in  Equality,  208. 

South,  The,  banking  statistics,  93, 
104;  agricultural,  loi,  103;  man- 
ufactures and  mining,  103  ;  ed- 
ucational, 105. 

Spain,  population  equal  to  Middle 
States,  98. 

Speculation,  in  municipal  enter- 
prises, 177. 

Spencer,  Herbert,  on  natural 
rights,  27;  first  principle  re- 
quires not  like  possessions  but 
like  scope,  42  ;  law  of  progress, 
115,  223;  ot  perfection,  2.13,  227. 

Standard  Oil  Company,  benefits 
to  consumers,  134. 

Steevens,    George  W. ,  on  Ameri- 


238 


INDEX 


can  veneration   for  wealth,  89 ; 
Philadelphia  a  city  of  leisure, 
107. 
Stephen,   martyr,  not  a  hireling, 

23- 

Strikes,  public  sympathy  lost  by, 
84. 

Suffering,  causes  of,  168-72;  nec- 
essary for  discipline,  225. 

Sweden,  wealth  compared  with 
Pacific  States,  104;  educational 
opportunities  of  women,  199. 

Switzerland,  educational  advan- 
tages of  women,  199. 

Sympathy,  manifested  in  chemis- 
try, physics,  plant  life,  74;  lost 
by  resort  to  violence,  strikes, 
etc  ,  84. 

Taxation,  remedy  for  monopoly, 
126;  imposed  by  Virgfinia  ves- 
trymen, 146;  property-holders 
should  control,  162-63. 

Tele'graph,  possession  by  political 
intrigue,  28,  185;  system  im- 
proved by  Edison,  175. 

Transportation,  furnished  by  cap- 
ital, 130. 

Travel,  facilities  contribute  to  un- 
rest, 181. 

Trusts,  not  so  dangerous  as  rep- 
resented in  Equality,  123; 
limited  by  law,  125;  future  of , 
126^27.  166. 

Truth,  the  law  of  race  progress, 
73- 

United  States,  average  wages  in 
1890,  96,  106;  food  supply,  agri- 
cultural statistics,  loi,  103;  min- 
eral out'put,  increase  of  wealth, 
104;  education,  104,  105,  109, 
199;  marvelous  progress,  108, 
109,  149-51,  160. 


Unrest,  causes  of,  87,  165,  168-72, 

181. 
Utopia,  Bellamy's  dream  of,  208- 

II. 

Vanderbilt,  Commodore,  wealth 
not  inherited,  175. 

Vermont,  savings  banks  statis- 
tics, 94. 

Virginia,  corruption  of  vestrymen 
and  assemblymen,  146. 

Wages,  improvement  on  chattel- 
slavery  system,  67;  efforts  to 
find  a  substitute,  79 ;  chief  mer- 
it, 82 ,  compared  with  coopera- 
tion, 86 ;  statistics  of  average  in 
iSgo,  96,  97,  106,  108;  affected 
by  competition,  133,  136;  af- 
fected by  invention,  159,  176; 
Utopian  substitute  for,  210. 

Wales,  educational  opportunities 
of  women,  199. 

War,  old-time  employment  for  the 
unrestful,  158-60;  brutality  and 
heroism,  174;  only  justification, 
225. 

Washington,  George,  on  force  of 
public  opinion,  126;  on  specu- 
lation in  Revolutionary  times. 
145 ;  almost  loses  faith  in  the 
Republic,  146. 

Wealth,  hereditary  and  acquired, 
23;  right  of  private  property 
as  taught  in  Scripture,  24-26; 
among  savages,  26 ;  division  of 
ownership  according  to  Equal- 
ity, 43,  175,  211;  not  the  basis 
of  civilization,  63;  certain 
amount  necessary  to  support 
existence,  66 ;  equal  distribution 
impracticable,  80 ;  American 
veneration  for,  89;  accumula- 
tion in  Middle  States,  98;  Prai- 


INDEX 


239 


rie  States,  102,  103 ;  Gt.  Britain, 
103,  176;  Pacific  States,  104;  its 
chief  power,  121;  why  easily 
amassed,  127,  130,  131;  product 
of  labor,  130,  i68;  concentra- 
tion among  American  million- 
aires, 152,  158;  increase  desir- 
able, 153,  179,  180;  cause  of 
Revolution.  157;  comparatively 
powerless  because  not  protected 
by  laws  of  descent,  157,  158;  not 
destructive  to  national  prog- 
ress, 168,  174-82;  law  of  in- 
crease, 170;  cowardice  of,  171- 
73 ;  honorable  accumulation, 
173-77;  dishonest  acquirement 
in  municipal  enterprises,  177; 
power  when  allied  to  intellect, 
178;  does  not  originate  but  ex- 


ecutes methods  of  growth,  181- 
82 ;  tyranny  in  parable  of  "  Mas- 
ters of  Bread,"  183-92. 

West,  The,  banking  statistics,  93 ; 
agricultural,  loi.  See  also  Pa- 
cific States. 

Wilson,  E.  B.,  on  variation  of 
germ  cells,  32. 

Wisconsin,  foreign  population, 
99. 

Women,  barter  honor  for  bread, 
184,  186,  191 ;  misrepresented  in 
Equality,  193-98;  opportunities 
for  self-support,  195-99;  higher 
education,  199-200. 

Wood-Veddahs,  morals,  27. 

Young,  Brigham,  code  of  con- 
duct, 13. 


r 


Date 

DUE 

1 

FORM    33S    40 

M     9-42 

335  S215R  500219 


